Warrior's Secret
by Ivyna J. Spyder
Summary: A year after Nightmare's defeat, news of a dark army shatters the short time of peace. Meta Knight leads Kirby and his comrades on another desperate journey to defeat him once and for all. Will uncovering Kirby's secrets be the key? Completed.
1. Shattered

_Chapter 1 – Shattered_

* * *

Only a few fluffy white clouds marked an otherwise clear sky that day, the air filled with laughter and music. Colorful streamers and banners were strung up across the village, and vendors sold all manner of snacks and toys. There was even a small carnival set up in the fields right outside, using the equipment King Dedede had once had in his castle.

There was no prank this time. The king still liked to make mischief, though he didn't order demon beasts anymore. Instead, this day marked the third anniversary of Kirby's arrival, and also fell close to the first anniversary of the defeat of Nightmare at his hands.

Since then, Dreamland had been pleasantly demon free. For the little Star Warrior this day honored, there was nothing left to fight. And for the first time in 10,000 years, the universe seemed at peace.

For the one standing high on a tree branch, watching the proceedings with a somewhat interested gaze, it was the first time in a very, very long time that he could actually relax. There was no need to keep a constant vigil over Kirby, as there was no longer anything to threaten him. He hoped so, anyhow.

Sir Meta Knight watched as a group of Cappy children ran by beneath him, clutching colorful balloons. In the back of his mind, he knew- peace rarely lasted long. You toppled one evil dictator only to have another, even worse, take its place. A 10,000-year reign such as Nightmare's didn't vanish as quickly as its leader had.

He wished he had been there to see Kirby's battle. Kirby, who had been rushed into fighting though he was just a small child. It was so much for one person's shoulders, but he carried himself better than many seasoned warriors Meta Knight had known. Thankfully it had been easy for him to adjust and go back to playing as a child should.

Things weren't perfect of course. King Dedede was still a slight nuisance from time to time. Meta Knight had yet to understand why the people of the village tolerated him. They were far too passive and gullible- and frankly, stupid- for their own good. If it hadn't been for Kirby, it wasn't likely they'd all still be around. Nor would anyone else, for that matter.

And suddenly, Meta Knight's view was filled with pink. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed the balloon float up- No, not just a balloon. This one had a face.

"Poyo!"

"Kirby. What are you doing?" he asked, looking over as Kirby landed next to him, exhaling and deflating slightly. "Shouldn't you be out enjoying yourself?"

Kirby shook his head. "Meta look lonely," he said matter-of-factly. Kirby had made a huge amount of progress with his speaking in the past year. Sometimes he'd still digress back into 'poyos', though that was a language in itself that only few understood.

"I'm not, I assure you. Go on now…" He motioned toward the carnival.

"Poy…" Kirby sounded annoyed. He then opened his mouth, reached inside… and pulled out a candy apple on a stick, which he then offered to Meta Knight. He was smiling brightly.

Meta Knight stared for a moment. "I really don't…" Kirby's face fell. Meta Knight sighed and accepted it. "Thank you…"

"Come on rides!" Kirby exclaimed, tugging on his cape. "Rides! Now! Poyopoy!"

Meta Knight resisted easily as Kirby attempted to pull him off the branch. "Kirby, please, I don't want to go on the rides."

Kirby paused. "…Play games?"

"No thank you. Look, Bun's over there, he's probably looking for you." He pointed to where the shaggy haired boy was heading towards the ferris wheel.

Meta Knight, in truth, had mixed feeling about Kirby. There was the fact Kirby was a legendary Warrior destined to save the universe. On the other hand, Kirby was also a small child, with many of the rather annoying habits small children had. Truth be told, Meta Knight didn't really like kids. But, he was a patient soul if anything.

Kirby deflated a bit more, looking defeated. Meta Knight thought for a moment.

"Fine, if you'd really like to do something… Later I'll give you some sword fighting lessons. Would that be suitable?"

Kirby smiled, jumping on the branch. "Poyoyes!"

Another voice rang out from the bottom of the tree. "Kirby! Leave Sir Meta Knight alone!" Kirby promptly lost his balance and fell, landing on Fumu's head and bouncing off.

"Sowwy Fumu…"

"It's all right; you're soft." Fumu patted him on the head, laughing. "Bun and Hohhe are going on the ferris wheel, they wanted you to go too!"

"Yay poyo!" Kirby cheered, running off towards the rides without another thought. Fumu watched him leave and shook her head. She was carrying a stick of cotton candy and a plush sheep she'd won at a game.

"Was he bothering you again?" Fumu asked, grinning up at Meta Knight.

"You could say that…" Meta Knight looked at the candy apple in his hand, not quite sure what to do with it. Shrugging, he lifted his mask slightly, sticking the apple under. This was followed by audible sounds of crunching. He tossed the bare stick aside, right into a nearby trashcan. He noticed Fumu was looking at him rather strangely. "…What," he said flatly.

"Er, nothing… So are you going to be up there watching all day? Even Sword and Blade are having fun!" She pointed over to a target game of some sort where the two of them seemed to be trying to win the highest prize- a Meta Knight plushie.

"…I don't remember giving them permission to use my likeness." Meta Knight muttered. He shook his head. "Perhaps later."

She sighed. "Well, it's not like you have anything else to do, right?"

He actually laughed at that. "Oh, it's really better that way you know. If I had anything to do, that would mean there was something dangerous I needed to protect you from, correct?"

"I guess so…" She sighed again. "All right then… See you around," she waved, walking off to meet up with a friend.

Meta Knight sat down against the tree trunk, closing his eyes. He was a little tired, maybe a short nap. It was too noisy here to really concentrate, but that was what he wanted.

When the screaming started a few moments later, he wasn't sure if he was dreaming it or not.

He jumped up, hand automatically reaching for the hilt of his sword. The people were milling about in panic, many of them pointing towards the castle. It was easy to see what was causing the commotion. A huge, disk shaped ship hovered above it, casting a huge shadow over the land.

Sword and Blade both ran beneath the tree, calling up to him. "Sir Meta Knight, it's another Destrayar! Is it here to attack?" Blade asked. Meta Knight jumped down, landing lightly in front of them.

Meta Knight shook his head. "I don't think there's any need to worry… I believe this one carries friends." The two of them nodded, trusting his judgment. "Let's get to the castle, quickly!" he shouted, and the three of them headed off.

* * *

A smaller ship had come down from the imposing Destrayar, landing closer to the village and keeping the knights' trip short. Meta Knight was quick to inform everyone that there wasn't any danger, but they kept their distance regardless. 

"Sir Meta Knight, what's going on?" It was Fumu again, along with her brother now. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course," he said, watching as the door opened and a small figure stepped out into the light.

"Knuckle Joe! Poyoyo Joe!" Kirby exclaimed as soon as he saw his friend, jumping up from the crowd and running over to him.

"Whoa hey wait a second!" Joe protested as Kirby tried to tackle hug him. "Geez I'm happy to see you too but I'm not an affectionate type and you know that! Get off!"

"Knuckle Joe, what are you doing here?" Fumu asked, walking up to him.

Bun pushed in front of her excitedly. "Have you killed a lot of demons lately?"

Joe seemed a bit upset at that, looking away. "Yeah. Too many."

"Huh?"

A feminine voice came from inside the ship. "There are more left than there should be." Silica stepped out a moment later, her multi-use weapon in hand and bandages around her arm. She gestured to the massive ship overhead. "This is our only ship left. The other two were destroyed."

This sent a flurry of worried discussion through the gathered crowd. Meta Knight stepped forward. "Destroyed? By what? Whom?"

Silica stepped aside to allow four other figures to exit. They were similar to Meta Knight's in their body shape, only they had much more elaborate armor. They were the four of the last remaining Star Warriors that had come to assist them during the attack on Nightmare's fortress. They all appeared to be the same race as Meta Knight or Kirby, only in different colors and armor.

"Sir Arthur, Dragato, Nonsurat, Falspar." Meta Knight said, addressing each of them. "It's good to see you again, but which of you can tell me what's going on?"

The leader of the Galaxy Fighter Team and the Star Warriors, clad in scratched and dented gold armor- Sir Arthur- approached him. "This is a serious matter. We should speak in private, as to not give these people undue distress."

"Excuse me…" Mayor Len walked out of the crowd. "My house is nearby, you could use it if you'd like. Just let me know what's going on if this could be a threat to my village!"

"Very well."

* * *

Soon the group was seated around the long table in the Mayor's dining room. The mayor, Meta Knight, Sword and Blade, Knuckle Joe, Silica, Sir Arthur, Kirby, and Fumu and Bun had managed to get in as well.

"Can I get anyone something to drink?" Hana asked from the doorway.

Len stood up quickly. "That's all right dear, but this is rather important…"

"She can stay if she wishes," Arthur said. He was seated at the end of the table, his blue eyes serious. "Meta Knight, I can say now that though Nightmare appears to have been defeated, his influence remains. He has many that are still loyal to him, and many demons still roam the universe, seeking to do his bidding."

"But isn't that why you all left? To go kill the rest of them?" Bun interrupted, getting an angry glare from his sister.

"That's right," Joe answered, leaning back in his chair, his focus far away. "But we expected them to be disorganized, scattered… We didn't expect them to attack us in groups. They have a leader, a good one. Someone's bringing them all together into one huge army…"

"An army?" Meta Knight said, incredulous. No, he should have expected something like this. It couldn't have been so easy.

"Big enough to have their own ships and artillery. We found their base and barely made it out alive," Silica pounded the table, teeth clenched. "It was a damned ambush! They knew exactly where we were."

They were silent for a moment. Kirby was the one to speak up.

"Nightmare not gone? Still demons? Poy…" He looked distressed for a moment, but immediately perked up. "I get them! Poyo! I eat 'em!"

"It's not so simple, young one," Arthur said. "Sad to say, you cannot truly vanquish a being like Nightmare. He always exists, but now his power is diminished."

"Nightmare isn't dead!" Fumu exclaimed, jumping from her seat. "All that was for nothing!" That wasn't possible. All they had gone through, and he wasn't gone?

"Fumu, please…" Meta Knight said, motioning for her to sit. "I know what Arthur is talking about, but I didn't believe it would become a problem so soon." He paused, looking for the right words. "Basically he's… weakened. This has happened before." They were looking at him, expecting an explanation. "This isn't the first time Nightmare has appeared, according to the legends. He has before, possibly many times in the universe's existence."

"He's a being that thrives on fear, hate, suffering…" Arthur added. "As long as those things exist, so will he. And in turn he will do his worst to intensify those feelings. War, genocide, slavery. His power grows."

Meta Knight nodded. "And the legends say that Star Warriors exist to fight him, or any other darkness that should appear. Each time he appears, he is defeated and there is peace, but not forever. There could never be a universe without fear or suffering, so there is always something for him to feed on." Meta Knight looked down at the table. It sounded so terrible when said like that. It was.

"So… It doesn't matter? Even after all that, he'll come back?" Bun asked, distraught. "That's not fair!"

"It's not. But you should have been able to live a happy life before his return, as would your children and their children." Arthur said, his cold blue eyes kind for a moment. "That is what the legends say. But this time, it seems they are trying to bring him back more quickly by starting another war."

"Nothing gives him more power than war."

"But we think we know a weakness…" Silica spoke up from cleaning her weapon. "It's just a theory though, based on those old stories." She laughed bitterly. "No one even knows if they're true. But we think if we can find Nightmare in his weakened state, we can finish the bastard off."

"Of course, we have no idea where he would be, or even if we _could_ finish him off, but it's a nice idea right?" Joe asked, still leaning back in his chair. "Of course without an army of our own, it's pretty difficult… Which is why we came here."

Arthur turned to the other two Star Warriors. "Meta Knight, Kirby, we must need to the power of the Galaxia sword, and the Star Rod." He nodded to each of them in turn. "Will you assist us?"

"Poyo!" Kirby jumped up with a determined look.

"Of course." Meta Knight didn't feel like he had a choice anyway. He felt a familiar and utterly ancient presence in his mind as Galaxia 'woke up.' He- the sword- seemed interested in the discussion. "Do we have any kind of plan yet? If there truly isn't a way to defeat him…"

"Then it would have been for nothing…" Arthur said quietly. "But if there is, we will spare everyone born after us from ever having to experience Nightmare's wrath. It's worth the risk, don't you agree?"

Meta knight was silent a moment. "It isn't something we can rush into…"

"I know. We have some time still for repairs and to gather supplies. We've taken out many of the stations for the Internet that the HNM Corporation used to transfer demons, so this new army won't be able to travel as quickly. We have time."

"They'll be expecting us to go to them."

"We know. We'll come up with something. We have to."

Mayor Len stood up again, nodding to Arthur. "Well until then, you're our guests here. If there's anything the citizens can do to help, feel free to ask!"

"You have my gratitude." Arthur turned to the others. "I will be up on the Destrayar working on repairs if anyone needs us. I wish you all well."

Joe grumbled. "Hey, can we get those drinks now by any chance? I'm pretty thirsty."

Fumu turned to Meta Knight. "This is horrible… Now what are we supposed to do?"

He didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.

* * *

Meta Knight still kept his promise to Kirby. The next day they were out near the woods for training. Now it was even more important to polish their fighting skills. After some time fighting Kirby himself, he had Sword and Blade fight him together. It was good training for all three of them.

"Wow…" Fumu stood nearby, watching. "Kirby's really good even when he's not using the actual sword ability!"

"Yes, it's very impressive. He's a fast learner, and fighting comes naturally to Star Warriors." He watched as Kirby managed to disarm Blade, only to be attacked from behind by Sword. It was rather entertaining to watch, he had to admit. Sword and Blade had relatively little skill or experience with fighting, though they worked extremely well as a team to take down a stronger opponent.

"Yeah… It's weird though," Fumu said as she sat down next to him.

"What is?"

She idly twirled the stem of a flower in her hand. "Well, even when Kirby first got here, he still knew how to fight. Not quite at first, but usually when he copies an attack. Haven't you noticed?"

Meta Knight mused over that for a moment, shifting slightly as a dragonfly decided to alight on his mask. "Yes, I've noticed… But I honestly never put much thought into it."

Fumu raised an eyebrow. "So you don't know?"

He shook his head. "Nothing but old legends. Nothing anyone could prove…"

"Legends? You've never mentioned anything like said."

"Stories about the origins of Star Warriors… It's rather-"

They both looked up, as there was suddenly a small explosion in the field that sent the three fighters flying. Meta Knight reached for Galaxia, only to stop and grumble a bit as he saw Knuckle Joe, running quickly past the three fighters.

He laughed, skidding to a halt nearby. "Who needs swords? Use your body as a weapon and you'll never be disarmed!" He ran right for them.

"Gah!" Blade jumped out of the way as Joe tried kicking at him. "I don't want to fight you!"

"Hey, watch it!" Sword ducked under a round of Vulcan Jabs. "Sir Meta Knight told us to help Kirby train, what are you doing!"

Joe came to a stop behind them. "Bah, you two are no fun, why do you listen to that old weirdo anyway?" he mumbled, rubbing his nose. "What about you Kirby? Up for a bit of training?"

Kirby looked a bit confused. "Poy…"

"Come on, I'm bored, let's fight!" Joe kicked, expecting Kirby to dodge or block… No such luck. Kirby took the hit and went flying, bouncing along the grass. Joe slapped his forehead, rolling his eyes. "…Ah jeez…"

"Joe! It's rude to interrupt like that," Fumu shouted, running over to see if Kirby was okay. Of course he was, just confused. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Sir Arthur and the others?"

"I don't work for them," Joe said with his arms crossed behind his head. "Thought I'd help Kirby toughen up that squishy pink blob he calls a body." He rubbed his nose.

Kirby stood up, also imitating him. "Poyo. Maybe later. Meda Knight said we sword training."

"Aw, fine…" Joe walked over to a tree and plopped down beneath it, legs crossed. "Train with your damn swords then."

"Done wreaking havoc?" It was Meta Knight, walking over from the other side of the tree.

Joe gave him a bored look. "For now. So, what have you been up to?"

"Not much, to be honest. Just trying to enjoy my vacation. And you?" Meta Knight was rather surprised Joe had chosen to speak to him at all. Though he'd visited before, he seemed to always avoid him.

"Ah… Oh, you know, traveling, killing demons, the usual…" Joe looked down, hands on his knees. He suddenly appeared to be very interested in a caterpillar's path along the grass in front of him. "I was…I was wondering…"

"Yes…?"

Joe shook his head quickly. "No, nothing, never mind. See ya'." He took off without another word, leaving Meta Knight rather baffled.

"What was that all about?" Fumu asked from nearby.

"I have no idea…" Meta Knight shrugged it off and looked to see Kirby fighting Sword and Blade once more, though this time he seemed distracted and was disarmed quickly.

Sword laughed. "Hm, if we can disarm him, that's not a good sign," he commented. "Hungry or something?"

Kirby thought for a moment before nodding. "Lunchtime! Poyo!" He pointed to the forest, motioning for them to follow. "Apples!" The forest was always a great place to get a snack, as long as you asked the trees first.

Blade looked across the field, waving to get Meta Knight's attention. "Sir, we're going to get something to eat, is that all right?"

"It's fine. Don't get lost."

"We won't!"

Meta Knight stood up, watching them go. "I'm going back to see how Arthur and the others are doing."

* * *

The room was in complete darkness, the meager light from the door swallowed up in the gloom. He knew he was in there, however. His lord seemed to enjoy the dark, the shadows. The minion cleared his throat. "Sir, the enemy ship arrived on Popstar not long ago. Your orders?"

Oppressive silence, and then he spoke in a low, twisted tone. Red eyes glinted. "Send out the group from the ship… A few for now and have the rest hide themselves. It should be enough to shake them up a bit."

"Sir, shouldn't we launch a full attack while they're still weakened? After all, what happened last ti-" The minion's sentence was cut short, becoming a pathetic gurgle as he clawed at the dagger in his throat.

"You do not question me… I won't make those mistakes again," The voice snarled. Seconds later, another figure entered the room, stepping over the body. "You. Send out a small group of demons to Dreamland. Sabotage their ship; I don't want them going anywhere…" He laughed, a cruel sound. "We can take our time for now. Go."

"Kirby… Enjoy your happy existence while you can…"

* * *

Whispy Woods looked a bit less inviting than normal. Maybe it was the time of day, but the shadows did look more menacing and there was a disturbing lack of birdsong. Kirby didn't really notice, intent on getting a snack and getting distracted by the occasional strange bug.

"So… are we getting apples from Whispy?" Blade asked. Kirby didn't answer, inspecting some colorful flowers. Blade shrugged and elbowed Sword. "So what do you think about all this? With this new army?"

"I want to stop them before they hurt anyone…" Sword said. "I'm worried."

Blade sighed. "It's a shame we don't have the Halberd. If we still had that I'd feel much better."

"We have that Destrayar at least…"

Kirby was walking backwards, looking back at the two of them. He didn't see them very much; they were always… well he didn't really know where they always were. They were always together when he saw them though. They were nice, and he wished he saw them more.

Blade noticed Kirby staring at them. "Er, yes?"

"Poy…Poyo poy…" Kirby wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to ask. So many words to remember. "Sword, Bwade, family?" That was the one.

"Family…? Oh, we're not related, if that's what you mean," Blade said. Kirby could understand their language, even if he couldn't speak it well. Kirby stopped walking, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Friends?"

Sword nodded. "Yeah, we're good friends; we have been since we were kids."

Kirby smiled and nodded, apparently satisfied. "Poy!" He turned and continued on through the woods.

"I hope it's not too much farther…" Blade said a few minutes later. He glanced up. Either it was getting dark early, or the trees were getting thicker.

"Hey!" Sword stopped as he almost ran into Kirby. "Is something wrong?"

Kirby was quiet, staring intently at the branches above them. Sword and Blade followed his example. There was nothing but leaves and a bit of blue sky beyond.

Blade waved his hand dismissively. "It's probably a monkey. Come on Kirby, let's get something to eat." Blade said, pushing him forward. Then he heard the growling, a low menacing sound from above them.

"Blade _MOVE_!" Sword shouted, pushing both him and Kirby to one side as a snarling mass of fur and teeth fell from above, nearly slashing him as well. It looked somewhat like a spiked, mutated cat, the remains of some forest creature dangling from its jagged teeth.

"It's a demon beast!" Blade exclaimed, sword in hand. The two of them immediately moved in front of Kirby. True, Kirby could probably protect them better than they him, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

The creature hissed, back arched as it circled the three of them.

"Poyo…" Kirby wasn't sure what to do. He was afraid of the demon, but he didn't want Sword and Blade to get hurt! "Sawd, Bwade!" He couldn't let them fight this thing! He was a Star Warrior; it was his purpose to protect people. He reached over, grabbing one of their swords and jumping to the side to distract the beast.

"Kirby, what are you doing!" Sword exclaimed.

The creature leapt then, straight for Kirby. The little warrior didn't have time to inhale the sword to gain the copy ability. He wasn't very good with a sword like this but he had to act NOW.

And suddenly he knew what to do.

When the beast landed, it hit nothing but dirt, leaving furrows in the ground with its claws. It whirled, snarling in confusion and not realizing Kirby was above it until it was too late.

He came down fast, sword pointed down and neatly severing the beast's spine as he jumped to one side. It twitched once, and fell. Kirby landed in front of Sword and Blade, breathing hard.

The two of them were silent for a moment. "…I guess the training's paying off…" Blade said in awe as Sword went to pull his weapon from the body.

Kirby tilted his body to one side. "Poyo?"

"We never taught you any moves like that, did Meta Knight?"

Kirby shook his head.

"Well, I guess you were lucky then," Sword walked over, wiping the blade off on the grass. "Great job, but now we need to tell everyone what happened. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more around here. Let's go!"

Blade nodded and the two of them started out of the forest.

"Poyo food!" Kirby protested.

"Later, Kirby! This is more important!"

Kirby sighed. All that work and no food? That just wasn't fair. He hurried to catch up. "Wait poyo!"

* * *

Much to their dismay, everyone else all ready knew.

Sword and Blade stood right outside the village, Kirby running to catch up. They could see from there that other beasts were all ready attacking. Not small pests like they had seen before- these ones could do some real damage.

"Help me someone HELP!" a Cappy woman shrieked, trying ineffectually to fend off one with a walking stick. It shattered the stick in its jaws and got ready to pounce.

"I'll get that one!" Sword shouted. Both of them rushed forward to aid the people. Sword swiped at the one attacking the woman, severing its head. "At least there aren't that ma- GAH!" He rolled to one side as an even bigger, bird like monster swooped down from above.

Kirby looked around frantically for something he could inhale. Rocks? No, Stone was too slow of a power. Parasol- no…

"Kirby, look out!"

He felt himself knocked hard to one side, he and his rescuer rolling along the ground as the bird-demon landed hard where he'd stood. He opened his eyes to see Meta Knight. "Meda Knight!"

"Sir Meta Knight!" Blade ran over, holding his arm. There was blood on his glove. "What happened? Where did all these things come from?"

"Stowaways on the ship!" he replied, slashing a beast that leapt from nearby bushes. "We don't know how they got on undetected!" He pushed Kirby aside. Kirby could fight on his own now.

Kirby was still unsure, however, moving so he at least wasn't in Meta Knight's way. The demons were too big and fast to inhale, he was sure if he tried one would attack him first. There had to be something…

"Hey Kirby!"

The pink warrior looked up to see Knuckle Joe standing on the roof above him.

"Need a hand?"

"Poyo!"

"All right then! Vulcan Jab!" As he had before, Kirby inhaled the attack to gain Joe's fighting abilities. It didn't make that much sense, but it wasn't something Kirby thought about.

Knuckle Joe jumped down, landing next to him. "Same as always! C'mon!"

Meta Knight saw the two of them and grinned. These demons wouldn't last long now. Kirby and Joe worked well together, and they'd make short work of them.

"Look out!" Blade shouted, and Meta Knight barely dodged to the side as a piece of stone from a nearby building crashed where he had stood. He mentally derided himself for getting distracted.

"I don't think there are many left, maybe a half dozen!" Sword shouted. There was a loud explosion and a howl and Joe and Kirby got one. "Make that five."

The battle didn't last much longer with their combined efforts. Finally Joe and Kirby had the last demon, another spiked cat-beast cornered.

"Any last words?" Joe smirked, pulling his fist back. "Smash-"

"POYO!" Kirby shouted, causing Joe to lose his concentration.

"Hey, what's the big id-" he started, but Kirby grabbed his arm and pointed frantically upwards.

"Look Joe look poyo!"

He did, to see the Destrayar flying overhead, very quickly. His eyes went wide. "What are they--! Agh, damnit! Smash Punch!" He quickly dealt with the demon and leapt to the nearest rooftop, watching the ship. Kirby followed his example.

The ship's flight was uneven, tilting to the left or right. It was rapidly losing altitude.

"What happen?" Kirby asked, his Fighter bandana gone.

"I don't know…"

Nearby, Meta Knight, Sword and Blade were watching with similar confusion.

"Did they lose control of the ship?"

Meta Knight was silent, watching it head for the nearby ocean. He knew perfectly well what was happening and that there was no way for any of them to stop it. He only hoped that everyone else was safe.

Knuckle Joe and Kirby watched in silence as the ship went farther out over the ocean, falling lower until it finally hit the water hard, flipping forward as it's front end went under. There was a horrendous sound of breaking metal as it fell, its momentum causing it to break nearly in half. For a second then it was calm, followed by a blinding flash of light and deafening roar as it exploded.

"Damn it… DAMN IT!" Knuckle Joe screamed, running and jumping from the roof. "Arthur! Silica! Where the hell are you!" Kirby tried following, only to meet up with Meta Knight on the ground.

"Poyo, they okay? Meda Knight, they okay?" he asked, tugging on his cape. He'd had friends die before and he didn't want to it to happen again.

"The demons must have taken control of the ship…" Meta Knight said quietly. He looked down at Kirby. "We have to try and find them."

Blade gasped. "Sir, look! Their ship!" They looked to see the smaller ship zip by above them, heading for a nearby field, smoke billowing from the engine. "Oh no…"

"Hurry!"

* * *

Thankfully the ship landed safely, leaving a long furrow in the ground before coming to a stop at the bottom of a hill. Joe arrived first, running over to open the door.

"Are you guys all right!" he asked as the door hissed open. Arthur stepped out first, obviously injured. The others were in similar shape, but alive. Meta Knight, Kirby, Sword and Blade arrived a few moments later, followed by Fumu and Bun who had seen it all happen.

"We should have known there could have been enemies on board…" Arthur said, voice harsh. "We were foolish."

"Now we don't have any ships left. This is exactly what they want!" Silica exclaimed, blood trailing from her forehead. "They want us to be here like sitting ducks. They aren't stupid."

"Then it seems we've still been underestimating them," Meta Knight said. "If they're expecting us to go to them, obviously we must think of another plan."

Arthur shook his head. "We cannot simply wait for them to gain power and come to us; we would never be able to stand up to them."

"Our best bet is still to get to them first," Joe said. "Especially now, while they think we're stuck here."

"But, we still need a ship. What are we going to do, build one?"

"Wait, I have an idea!" It was Fumu, walking up next to Meta Knight. "We need another ship, right? And weapons and supplies… I know who we can get those from."

* * *

Yes, after nearly a year of writing... it is finished! (I shall be posting one chapter at a time, over the course of several days.) 

Much thanks to many people - Pyrasaur for giving me the most help with ideas and plot and the like. BabyCharmander for beta reading and catching those pesky typoes, Jboy for beta reading too and also helping by listening to me babble about story ideas. And others. XD

And finally, dear reader, if you would take a moment of your time and do me a favor...

Yes, we all know the Kirby anime is dubbed- and with that dub comes different voices. This story was written with the original voices in mind, and it helps to be able to imagine those.

So to help you, I have put together several small, easy to download clips of the original voices of characters important to the story. Enjoy.

(You'll need to remove the space after 'spyder' after you copy and paste the URLs.)

Meta Knight - www.ivynajspyder .com/metaknight2.mp3

Sword Knight - www.ivynajspyder .com/swordknight.mp3

Blade Knight - www.ivynajspyder .com/bladeknight.mp3

Knuckle Joe - www.ivynajspyder .com/knucklejoe.mp3

Silica - www.ivynajspyder .com/silica.mp3

Fumu/Tiff - www.ivynajspyder .com/fumu.mp3

Bun/Tuff - www.ivynajspyder .com/bun.mp3


	2. Departure

_Chapter 2 – Departure_

_

* * *

_

It had been a very long day.

Meta Knight was in his room, getting ready to rest for the night. It was all ready very late, though he doubted he'd be able to get any sleep. He hadn't been able to in some time. The window was open, revealing a beautiful star filled sky, the moon nearly full. Papers were scattered over a desk nearby, many of them written upon in a graceful script.

They had done all they could for one day. Fumu's plan had been to contact Princess- no- _Queen_ Rona on her home planet Pipi and ask for help. Contacting them had proven to be difficult, but they'd gotten an encrypted message out through the internet still hooked up in the king's throne room. Hopefully they would receive a reply by morning.

There was a gentle knock at the door. "Come in." He wasn't exactly sure who it would be at this hour, and was quite surprised to see Kirby there. "Oh… Why aren't you sleeping?"

Kirby thought for a moment. "Not sleepy. You not sleepy?"

"Not particularly. Did you need something?"

"No. Wanted see you." He smiled, standing next to him to look out at the stars as well. "Poyo. Can't find Joe…"

Meta Knight was a bit taken aback by his first comment. This wasn't the first time he'd done this either. "I see… Joe is… probably training somewhere, knowing him…."

"Poy." Kirby hopped onto the windowsill to get a better view. "Pretty!"

"They are..." While Meta Knight wouldn't mind simply staying up to watch the heavens, this wasn't the night for it. "Kirby, I'm sure there will be much to do tomorrow. Why don't you go try and get some sleep?"

"Poyo…" He sounded sad, but hopped back down. "Okay. Goo'night."

"Good night, Kirby," Meta Knight closed the door as he left. Very strange, he thought, but Kirby really wasn't a nuisance. Meta Knight wasn't sure what to make of it.

The old warrior sighed, walking to the door of his room. Hopefully tomorrow would bring good news.

He dreamed that night… Something from years ago, a happier time with his fellow Star Warriors. He slept better than he thought he would.

* * *

Fumu and the others stood near Dedede's throne, looking up at the view screen hanging from the ceiling. It was the only part left of the king's old demon beast delivery service, and it had taken nearly all night for Escargon to alter in order to send a message.

Of course, he had volunteered after the king was asleep. None of them wanted him involved, knowing he would find a way to mess things up.

"I think we're getting an incoming transmission," the snail said, clicking away on the pad on the throne's arm. The screen showed mostly static, but finally a blurry image came through, revealing Queen Rona in an elaborate crown and dress. She bowed her head slightly.

"Rona!" Fumu exclaimed happily. "I haven't seen you in so long, how is everything?"

She smiled. "Everything is going great here. I'm so happy to see you again…" Her tone became serious. "We got your message last night and I ordered a ship and supplies to be ready right away. It should arrive there in the afternoon. It's one of our fastest ships, and I hope it will help you all."

"Thank you so much!"

"Yes, thank you for your assistance, Queen Rona," Meta Knight bowed his head.

"Oh, no formalities, please. I get enough people bowing to me," she said good-naturedly. "My people will help in any way they can. I could assemble an army for you if you needed it."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. It would lead to too much loss of life." Meta Knight said. "We're trying to get in undetected."

"I wish you all luck then," she said. "Fumu, all of you, please be careful. Come visit me after you defeat them, we'll throw a celebration in your honor! And a feast for you, Kirby."

"Poyo!"

The screen started getting fuzzy. "We're losing the connection…" Escargon said.

"We'll send extra help if you need it!" Rona said. "Good bye everyone." The screen fizzled and went out.

"Bye…" Kirby said, sad that she'd gone away so quickly. He looked over at Meta Knight.

"We'll be leaving soon enough then," Meta Knight said, wrapping his cape around himself as he left the room. "If you're going, I suggest you take this time to get ready."

* * *

"You're staying?"

"That is our decision. It will work out better this way."

Meta Knight, Sword and Blade at his side, stared incredulously at Sir Arthur. They were gathered in one of the guest bedrooms the other Star Warriors were staying in.

"This all depends on you and Kirby making it…" Arthur said quietly. "However, someone needs to stay behind and defend this place after all. You don't want to leave it completely unguarded."

Meta Knight nodded solemnly. He hadn't thought of that. "In that case, I thank you, Arthur. I trust you and your men to protect Dreamland in our stead."

Arthur approached him, his gaze serious. "My only qualm is that you must bring Galaxia with you… But you are truly the best choice to protect it. And you know full well how important it is that it remains in your hands alone."

"Yes, I know…" he said, hand absently straying to its hilt. Such a responsibility. "Very well. I wish you all luck."

"I believe you'll need it more than we."

"Let's still hope no one attacks while we're gone…" Sword said quietly as they were walking through the hallways a few minutes later. "Are we going to tell the king anything?"

Meta Knight paused. "Hm… I'll need to make something up." He still wanted to keep Dedede in the dark about much of this. The king was still gullible and easily manipulated by the wrong kinds of people and would be the first to leak information about their plans.

"All right." Sword nodded. "Blade and I are going to go get some things together before we go."

"I'll meet you both later outside the castle gates."

* * *

"Are you sure you have to go?"

Fumu sighed. "Yes, I'm sure mom. I have to be there to help Kirby. Don't worry; we'll be back okay just like last time. We have Meta Knight and Kirby to protect us, remember?" She was with her mother and father in the living room after having told them what was going on. They'd taken it better than she'd thought at least.

"Be sure to get back soon…" Memu said. She smiled. "You need to be back in time to meet your new little sister."

"Or little brother- the doctor couldn't really tell." Parm added, his hand on his wife's noticeably larger stomach. It hadn't been planned, but sometimes things worked out that way… "It shouldn't be long now. Oh, I still need to talk to his Majesty about that raise…"

"Good luck with that… Oh! Don't tell him anything about this," Fumu said. "You know how he is… Tell him we're off at camp or something."

"I'll be sure to," he said. "Well, I'll help you and your brother pack… Are you sure he needs to go too?"

Fumu sighed. "You can try talking him out of it, but he was pretty insistent." Her brother was sometimes even more stubborn than she was- sometimes. "Thanks mom, dad…" She didn't like leaving home like this, but she wanted to help her friends too.

"I love you…"

Memu put her arms around her daughter. "We love you too. Be safe."

* * *

Kirby wandered through the castle's courtyard, his stomach rumbling. He was hungry, but he needed to find someone first. It was a sunny day out again, with clouds forming all kinds of shapes. Glancing up, Kirby saw what looked a lot like a bird, and a sheep, and a big juicy watermelon! …Then he tripped.

"PooYO!"

"Hey watch it!" Joe shouted, scowling as he sat up. He'd been laying down in the grass when Kirby stumbled over him. "Don't you look where you're walking?"

When Kirby stopped rolling, he stood up and looked at Joe. "Sowwy Joe… Looking for you."

"Oh. Yeah, I know, we have to go soon. I just wanted to relax for a bit, all right?" He flopped back down on the grass, closing his eyes.

Kirby thought this was rather odd, since Joe was always so active when he saw him. He smiled, standing over him. "Play now?" Joe pushed him aside, sitting up again and adjusting his bandana.

"_Now_ you want to?" He grinned, rubbing his nose. "That's the spirit! Eh, I don't know how much time we have before we go though… Did you say goodbye to everyone?"

Kirby nodded. "Poyes." Tokkori had acted happy to see him go. But he knew Tokkori actually liked him- he just never said so or acted like it. He rubbed his (nonexistent) nose like Joe had. "Excited?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, of course!" Joe said. "Though it'll be pretty boring afterwards… No more demons to fight."

"Then Joe play!" Kirby jumped up, smiling. He wanted to be able to see him more, but Joe was always traveling to fight something or other.

Joe smirked. "Yeah, I guess… Ready?" He raised his fists. Kirby shook his head.

"Not fight, play! Ball?" Kirby pointed to a round yellow ball nearby, walking over to pick it up and bounce it on his head. He let it fall, and then kicked it towards Joe.

Joe shrugged, watching it… and kicked it back. Except, he kicked it a little too hard.

"Poyo…" Kirby watched as the ball sailed over his head… and over the castle wall.

"Heh… Guess I don't know my own strength sometimes…" Joe gave him an apologetic look. "This really isn't the time for it. Sorry…"

"It okay Joe. Play after get Nightmare. Okay poyo?" Kirby smiled.

"Sure thing."

Kirby toddled away with happy thoughts of the future, while Joe sat back down to gaze off into the distance, his thoughts clouded by worry. He wasn't sure why he felt that way, but it was annoying. Jumping up, he decided he'd go find someone to spar with to get his mind off things.

* * *

The ship was small and sleek and in the flattened cone shape of the ships Rona's people used, only pointing forward instead of up and with short wings on either side. It was also outfitted with several turrets for defense. The colors ranged from silver to very pale purple- a scheme both Knuckle Joe and Bun said were simply not fitting colors for a battleship.

"It's supposed to have cloaking equipped- no one should see it," Meta Knight said, approaching the hull. Sword and Blade stood back, talking quietly to each other.

In all honesty, Meta Knight would have preferred to take as few others with them as possible. He had half a mind to tell Fumu and her brother to stay, but the girl was far too stubborn for that. Sword and Blade were too loyal to let him go on his own, despite the fact he still sometimes ended up defending the two inexperienced fighters. He smiled slightly beneath his mask at that bit of irony.

"So are we leaving or not?" Joe asked, suddenly right next to him. "Come on, I don't wanna wait around here all day! Let's get a move on!"

"We might as well…" Meta Knight said, looking towards the others. "If everyone is ready..." He motioned towards the ship. The small group boarded in silence, with the exception of Joe boasting about all the demons he was sure to kill, and Kirby happily chirping his agreement.

"The control scheme looks a bit odd…" Blade said, looking over one of the three stations in the control room.

"Nothing we can't figure out," Sword said, starting the power up procedure. "See? Some things are moved around but the basics are the same as any other. Sir Meta Knight, your orders?"

Meta Knight turned to Joe and Silica. "Well? You two know where we're going." Blade hit a sequence of buttons and an image appeared on the window on the front of the bridge, revealing an image of Popstar's galaxy. It zoomed out, showing a vast expanse of stars.

Silica joined the two knights at the control panel, hitting buttons until a certain galaxy lit up, zooming in and showing a small solar system and then a rocky planet. "That one. It's the one we were all attacked near and it's about a week's travel at this ship's top speed. Of course we're positive they have other bases all over by now."

"But this is a start," Joe said. "I have some good sources of information about these things. The word is that the leader of the whole operation is there."

"Very well. Sword, Blade, set a course."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"So what's our plan?" Silica sat across from Meta Knight at the small table, her multi-use weapon at her side. She never left it anywhere. "I say we need to assume the enemy knows we're coming. Going straight there isn't our best bet."

He nodded. "I know. We'll have to make detours…" Meta Knight was still working it all out, since everything had moved so quickly. "This ship's stealth capabilities should be helpful… But we aren't going to be able to land near this base at our leisure." Nor could they go in with all guns blazing as it were. They required a far subtler approach- that hopefully would be easier to do without a certain penguin around.

"We have plenty of time anyway. This ship isn't as fast as the Halberd, it may take more than a week to get there depending on what happens." It was still impressive for this little ship. "Silica, we had to leave on very short notice. Honestly I haven't worked every detail out yet."

She frowned but nodded. "Right… I'm going to go study the maps of the areas around the base and see if I can figure anything out." She left down the hallway.

"I don't get her at all."

Meta Knight turned to see Knuckle Joe leaning against the wall outside his quarters. He hadn't noticed him arrive. So perhaps the boy _could_ be quiet when he wanted to. "Hm?"

Joe shrugged. "She's too high strung."

"…You're hardly one to talk, Joe." Meta Knight said wryly. Joe snorted and looked down the hallway. He didn't move, seeming content to stare at the wall in front of him. "Did you need something…?"

Joe was silent for a few moments. "…I wanted to talk…" He was avoiding looking in the old knight's direction.

"All right. I'm not busy now. What did you want to talk about?" Meta Knight wondered what he was so apprehensive about. He didn't think he was that unapproachable.

Another pause, and Joe sighed. "You knew my father… before he…" He frowned. Was his voice shaking? "Well I thought maybe you could tell me about him or something. I know this might not be the best time so maybe some other time…"

That explained a lot. Meta Knight was quiet for a moment, unused to seeing Joe so nervous. But he couldn't really blame him. It was still a touchy subject- for both of them. However, Meta Knight actually felt like focusing on something else now, aside from all these new problems. It might help clear his mind.

"I was too young to really remember anything about him…" Joe went on. "My aunt never told me about how he was a soldier or anything… But you probably knew him pretty well, right?"

Meta Knight smiled. "I did… It's all right Joe, I'd be happy to tell you about him." Joe relaxed somewhat, smiling a bit himself. "Let's not stand in the hall though…" He motioned towards his room.

"I must ask you something though," Meta Knight said as Joe sat down in one of the two chairs in the room. There was a small cot and a table aside from that. All rather cramped but it was a small ship so one couldn't expect much. He'd certainly had worse. "Didn't your aunt ever tell you about me?"

"No… why would she have?"

He chuckled softly. "We met several times… She never really liked me though."

Joe's look was puzzled. "When did you meet her?"

"Years ago… Many times, when you were young I went with Jecra when he visited you. He went home at every chance he had." Meta Knight didn't sit down, preferring to look outside the small window the room had. He liked to reminisce about these things- happier times. "You were just learning to talk the last time I saw you, long before you came to Popstar."

"Why didn't my aunt like you?" Joe was grinning in that smug way he had.

"Oh…" Meta Knight paused, thinking about that one. "I believe… she was just over protective of her little brother and thought I was a bad influence."

Joe laughed. "I don't remember ever seeing you either… Guess I was too little."

"You were. I don't think you liked me very much then either. Jecra never understood it, but he suspected his sister was turning you against me."

"She used to say he was too reckless and that's where I got it from," Joe said, turning the chair around so he was sitting backwards in it, arms folded over the top.

Meta Knight rarely saw Joe as it was- and it was stranger to see him acting almost happy like this. Joe had rarely even bothered speaking to him before and here he was acting so comfortable around him. At the very least it assuaged any worries that the boy held any ill feeling towards him.

"Mm, I don't know if reckless is the right word… Maybe overly optimistic. Very few things bothered him."

"What about my mom?"

"…Your mom?"

Joe adjusted his bandana as he spoke, "You know, opposite of my dad? Aunt Jarle said she died a little while after I was born because she got sick, but did you ever meet her?"

Meta Knight stared for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. "I… I can't say I ever did…" His reaction served to confuse Joe quite a bit.

"I probably know less about her than my dad. Did he even talk about her?"

Meta Knight shook his head. "…Joe, I think someone wasn't quite honest to you about-"

They were interrupted suddenly by a harsh knocking at the door. Meta Knight opened it to see Fumu there, breathing hard. "Sir Meta Knight, Sword and Blade said to hurry to the control room!" He nodded and they both took off down the hall.

"Hey wait! Whadaya mean someone wasn't honest!"

"I'll tell you later!"

* * *

"We're being followed."

Sword's hands raced over the control panels as various readouts and images appeared on the view screen in front of them. "We detected them a short while ago. At first we weren't sure if they happened to be going in the same direction but when stopped, so did they."

"We can't tell what kind of ship it is from this distance either," Blade added.

"I see…" Meta Knight studied the screens for a few moments. "See if you can contact them and find out their intentions. And have the weapon systems ready."

The two of them worked quickly to follow his orders, just as Kirby and Bun came running into the room to see what was going on.

Sword spoke into a microphone on the console. "To the ship that is following us, we have detected you and wish to know your reasons for tailing us. Respond." He waited, but there was only static.

"Was it the best idea to let them know we saw them?" Silica muttered from the other side of the room. "We should have led them on."

"If you need assistance, respond now."

"They aren't giving out any SOS signals," Blade mumbled, looking over the screens. "I know they're getting our messages."

"Maybe they speak another language?" Fumu suggested. The language they spoke was fairly common on Popstar and in neighboring planets but it was hardly the only one.

Sword nodded and spoke again, only not in a tongue she couldn't understand. But again there was static. "Mm, most races can understand the trade language… This rules out it being a merchant vessel."

"They're ignoring us," Silica said. "If it isn't Nightmare's forces, they're pirates."

"This is our last warning," Sword said. "If you do not state your intentions immediately, we will open fire."

"Open fire?" Fumu exclaimed. "What if they just don't understand us?"

Meta Knight held one hand up. "It's all right. We'd only fire a warning shot near them." That was easy to understand in any language, he imagined.

There was only silence from the other ship.

"Well…" Blade poised his hand over one of the buttons. "Firing warning shot."

The view on the screen switched to show the area behind the ship. Blade's hand came down, and a small spot of light shot out, exploding with a small flash some distance behind them. They couldn't make out the other ship.

"Poy…" Kirby watched the screen intently, confused as to what was going on. "What that?" He pointed to a tiny point of light that was getting bigger.

Meta Knight gasped. "Damnit! Sword, Blade!" He didn't have to say more, the two of them knew what to do immediately. The ship suddenly lurched to one side, sending Kirby rolling and the others grabbing onto something for stability. The projectile zipped past, barely missing them. "Enable the cloaking device, shields on full and fire!"

"Yes sir!" Blade exclaimed. He and Sword were far better at controlling starships than they were at sword fighting, so Meta Knight had few worries about how they'd fair against this lone ship. Providing it was the only one.

"Ha! These guys think they can mess with us?" Joe exclaimed, fist in the air.

Suddenly the room went pitch black for a brief moment before the emergency lighting went on, tinting the room with red light as a shrill alarm went off. Sword and Blade immediately ran through the various sensors and readings from the ship.

"They're inside!" Blade exclaimed, looking up from the console. "I don't know how they-"

"That must not have been a missile," Meta Knight said, Galaxia in his hand. "Everyone, Nightmare's forces are serious now. Anything he sends against us is with lethal intent. He's not toying with us."

"Fumu, Bun, stay behind us," Silica warned, her weapon set to the knife mode. She couldn't afford to blow any holes in the ship.

"So where are they?" Joe asked.

"We don't know…" Sword said. "The other ship's vanished from our sensors. They're out of range."

"Deactivate the alarms," Meta Knight ordered. One of the two complied quickly and dead silence fell. He listened, but heard nothing. "Sword, Blade, seal this room."

"Wait, we need to go after them!" Silica shouted, staring at him incredulously. "They might be trying to destroy the engines or the power core!"

"No, they aren't here for that…"

"You just said-"

"I know what I just said. But they aren't going to try destroying the ship; it might damage what they're after."

"And that is?"

He raised Galaxia slightly, the light from the window glinting off it. "Nightmare needs this if he has any chance of returning to power."

Silica stared at him. "What are-"

And then there was a flash of light from the floor as a hole was cut through the metal, followed by a long, sinuous form with clacking legs and gnashing jaws. The centipede creature hissed, moving with impossible speed straight for its prey.

It didn't get far as Silica's blade sliced a wound on its back. It shrieked, whirling to face her instead. Knuckle Joe attacked from behind, punching a hole through its head and putting it out of commission.

"Think there are any more?" Bun asked, peering out from behind the console.

Meta Knight nodded. "Joe, Silica, take the left wing. Kirby, you come with me. Sword and Blade, stay here and monitor the ship and contact me if you see anything. If you detect the other ship again, destroy it. Fumu, Bun, you stay here as well." He motioned for his fellow Star Warrior to follow him.

* * *

_Squeak squeak squeak squeak_

"Kirby, could you please not do that?"

"Poyo… Sowwy, can't help it…"

Meta Knight sighed as Kirby tried walking on his tiptoes to minimize the squeaking from his feet. He never realized how loud it was until he needed to be quiet.

So far they hadn't found anyone else on the ship, but he had a strong feeling there was something there. Kirby agreed.

The two of them searched one of the storage rooms, with Kirby checking behind some boxes.

"Hm… This brings back memories."

"Poyo?"

Meta Knight gave a quiet chuckle. "Nightmare's forces liked to try and sneak aboard our ships… We had to search them every day sometimes, even though it was normally not anything serious… Well, we mostly left that job to the lower ranks, with some more experienced soldiers like myself just in case. Once we knew it was safe we could sometimes go off and be left alone for a while because they thought we were still searching…"

"Poy…?"

"Mm, never mind. This room's clear, let's go." He turned, stopping abruptly when he saw the door- that he was certain he'd closed- now ajar. Wonderful. "Kirby… Kirby?"

The voice he heard next was low and rasping, its source unknown in the gloom. "Drop your weapon, Star Warrior." He saw his enemy then, a dark armored figure standing on top of a crate, a wicked looking mace held in one hand. Kirby was nowhere to be seen. "Do as I say and we'll leave you and your comrades alone."

Meta Knight stood his ground. "Until Nightmare comes and kills us all, right?"

The figure laughed. "Perhaps if you give up easily, your fate will be less painful. Hand over the sword!" He didn't notice the pink ball jump up behind him, grabbing onto his helmet and covering his face. "ARGH!"

Meta Knight took the chance, leaping forward and up, drawing his sword back and driving it forward through his foe's stomach. Kirby jumped to the side.

"You… bastard…" his enemy spat, body quickly going limp and blood pooling around him. Meta Knight withdrew Galaxia, returning it to its scabbard.

"Thank you, Kirby," he nodded to the little Star Warrior. Kirby had come up with the idea to distract him on his own… It was impressive, for him anyway. "Let's go find Joe and Silica."

* * *

"The ship's clear. There were two others near the engine room." Silica explained.

"We took care of 'em," Joe grinned.

"This group was rather inept…" Meta Knight said disdainfully. "I think Nightmare- or whoever is in charge now- might be underestimating us as well…" Which made no sense at all. "Sword, are we back on course?" The group was back in the bridge, the centipede demon's body having been disposed of and the floor patched up temporarily.

Sword nodded. "Yes sir, and we managed to take out the other ship while you were searching."

"With only one missile at that," Blade added, sounding quite pleased with himself. "We've temporarily activated the cloaking and went into warp drive, that should give us a good head start and make it harder to track us."

"Very good…" Meta Knight said. "Hopefully we'll be able to get some rest now. You two take turns watching the radar tonight. I don't want you both falling asleep."

"Yes sir."

"Eh, I'm gonna go get some training in before bed…" Joe said, wandering off down the left hallway. Kirby started following him, rubbing his eyes and yawning, and then plopping to the ground.

"Poy…"

"Kirby, I think you need to get to bed," Fumu laughed and walked over to him, scooping him up without protest. "Come on, your room's over here."

"Sis, he's not a baby anymore you know." Bun said, grinning.

"Meta Knight said he wouldn't be grown up for 200 years! So technically he still is."

"I bet Kirby doesn't like being called a baby! He's a soldier! Right, Kirby? …Kirby?" He'd fallen asleep. "Bah, forget it…" The three of them left down the hallway.

Silica waited for a few moments in the bridge after everyone else had left. She watched Sword at the control panel for a few moments. "Do you listen to anything he says?"

"Hm? Of course," Sword shrugged. "Why?"

"Nothing, just curious… Hey, I could take over for you guys sometime tonight if you need. This ship's system isn't too different from mine." She smiled, a rare look from her.

"Thanks, we appreciate it."

The bridge was quiet a short while longer, aside from the clicking and beeps of the computers. Silica stood watching the front window and the multicolored lights of warp-space. "…What do you guys know about Galaxia?"

"Not very much. I thought you were over trying to take that," Sword's voice had some humor to it.

"No, it's not that. But Meta Knight said they wanted it… So what's so important about it? Why isn't he putting it someplace safe?"

"I'd ask him if I were you," Blade suggested, sitting back in one of the chairs. "I get a break first, Sword."

"Fine, fine…" Sword looked at Silica. "He might still be up; he's a bit of a night owl. Otherwise I'd try asking him tomorrow."

"I don't guarantee you'll get a straight answer…" Blade yawned, trying to get comfortable in the chair. "But it's worth a shot."

"Thanks."

* * *

It was an image from long ago. The day had been overcast, the sky tinged with smoke from distant fires. But that didn't faze him.

"That was great, wasn't it?"

"Great? It was a battle; it was hardly 'great'…"

A playful shove. "You know what I mean. We won it, and we won it well! Barely an injury on our side. I must have got a few dozen of those demon bastards myself…"

He was laughing, more cheerful than you'd expect someone to be even with such comparatively good conditions. But he was right. It had been an excellent victory for them. Good for morale.

Meta Knight smiled at him, unseen behind his mask- but you could see it in his eyes if you knew how to spot it.

He smiled back. He had his mask off, tucked under his arm, bright yellow hair a mess around his face- but then it was always a mess.

"We need to celebrate."

Meta Knight rolled his eyes. "I think the others are all ready off at the one of the pubs…"

"I know, getting drunk isn't your thing… We'll do something else to celebrate. I'm not letting you sulk in your room again."

"Sulking? Damnit, you know I have to look over the maps-"

He cut him off, "I know, but the last thing we need is you getting too obsessed with all this and ending up like that Sgt. Dakonyo guy…"

Meta Knight actually shuddered. "Mm, good point…"

The sun was setting, and on this planet it always made the clouds appear like they were ablaze. Meta Knight stood there for a moment, watching.

"Come on then, Mety." He was the only one who could call him by any sort of nickname. Meta Knight gave a half-hearted protest anyway.

"It'll be great, I promise."

* * *

Meta Knight opened his eyes slowly, unsure what time of night it was. There was no way of telling in space, only by their clocks. His was behind him, he believed. So he rolled over- and was met with pink.

"Hiii!"

He would have denied it later, but he jumped. He hadn't expected it. "Kirby, what are you- When-" he sputtered, sitting up in his small bed. How did Kirby come in without him noticing?

Kirby clutched the blanket to himself, looking guilty. "Bad dweam… Bad _scawy_ dweam…" He put a lot of emphasis on the scary part. Meta Knight guessed it would have to be a very bad dream to scare someone who fought demons on a regular basis. "Fumu room locked, not wanna wake up…"

"I see…" Meta Knight sighed, rubbing his face wearily… Something else wasn't right. His hands were touching skin, not the metal of his mask. He glanced over at Kirby from behind his hand. Kirby just smiled. Another glance showed his mask on the ground next to the bed. "…Must have come off…" He mumbled, quickly reaching for it. At least it was dark in the room; Kirby wouldn't have seen his face, not clearly.

"No no!" Kirby exclaimed, and he stopped. Kirby looked puzzled for a moment. "Poy… Meda not need it."

"I need it." Maybe it was out of habit, he thought. Meta Knight reached for it again, quickly bringing it up and snapping it on, clasps on each side attaching to the armor on his shoulders. "…What was your bad dream about?"

Kirby was clutching Meta Knight's pillow. "…Dark an' scawy… Something…" His face screwed up a little. "Something big, big claws… Couldn't get away…"

"Well, it was just a dream… Nothing to worry about." Meta Knight waited a moment, but Kirby wasn't moving. "You… should probably go back to your own room now."

"Poyo…"

It must have been an unusually bad dream then… He sighed. "Fine, you can stay here. Just for tonight."

"Poyo!" Kirby squeaked, immediately hushing up when he realized he was too loud. "Sank'you'."

"You're welcome. Now go to sleep." He gave Kirby the pillow to sleep on and rolled back over on his cot, closing his eyes. Kirby, naturally, was asleep in moments. Meta Knight stared up at the ceiling for a time. He didn't need much sleep, as he'd grown so accustomed to going without it during the war. But he soon drifted off as well. And Kirby didn't have any more nightmares.

* * *

It was breakfast the next morning. Rona's people had included an excellent supply of food for their trip of course. It was only supposed to take a few more days, providing they didn't run into more trouble. Of course, none of them expected an easy journey.

Blade yawned. "Mm, last night was uneventful. No ships following us, our ship's systems are all stable… We won't need to refuel for a while yet."

Meta Knight glanced around the table. Joe wasn't there, Kirby was gulping down pancakes that Fumu had made him, Bun was eating cereal and Silica… was staring at him. He cleared his throat. "Is something wrong?"

"I need to talk to you later. In private."

"Well, I'm not busy now..." He'd had a light breakfast earlier. "Is there a problem?" Meta Knight asked a few moments later as they were walking down the corridor.

"There is. If you know Nightmare wants Galaxia, why didn't you put it somewhere safe? Hide it from him?" She scowled, closing the door to Meta Knight's room. "You said before that he couldn't gain power without it! So then destroy it or something!"

Meta Knight shook his head. "It isn't that simple."

"It doesn't seem very complicated to me. Nightmare needs that sword, and you're taking it right to him!"

"Exactly."

Her expression faltered.

"Nightmare knows I have it, and he knows taking it from me won't be easy, otherwise he would have attempted to retrieve it more in the past… He knows we're coming by now."

She was silent for a long moment. "Then we're walking into a trap. The second we get there-"

"Do you think I'm not aware of that?" he snapped. "This is still our best chance. Nightmare may not know that we've realized this."

"Still, why bring the sword at all then?"

"Because Galaxia may also be the only way to defeat him for good," Meta Knight said, sitting in one of the chairs. "In all the times he's been defeated before, there hasn't been a chance to try it. But those who created Galaxia may have done so for this very purpose."

"And that's why he took it before. So it couldn't be used against him."

He nodded. "That's part of it… The ancestors of the Star Warriors worked along with the Photoron race to produce it, or so the stories say. Though no one knows how you could truly defeat a being that may only be a dream… But he also needs the power it contains if he ever wants to achieve his goals."

"I see…" Silica's gaze was on the window. "So we just have to get it there and use it on him?"

"I honestly don't know what we'll need to do exactly," He gave a short laugh. "I suppose we'll find out when we get there."

"And if it's a trap?"

"We'll have to fool them first."

She grinned. "You're not leaving me in the dark about this. I can help out."

"Thank you, Silica…" He looked up as he heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hey I was-" Knuckle Joe stopped mid-sentence, halfway into the room when he saw Silica there. "Oh… Eh, I'll come back later."

"It's all right, we were done talking anyway," Silica said. She nodded to Meta Knight. "Thanks."

Joe closed the door behind her, an odd look on his face. "What was she doing here?"

"She just had some questions… and what about you?"

Joe cleared his throat. "Ah, you know… I was done training, I was wondering, if you had time and all…"

Meta Knight smiled unseen. "I have plenty of time, Joe. You only have to ask."

* * *

Kirby was reading a book.

Or at least he was trying to. It wasn't exactly the best one for him to try reading, one of Fumu's science textbooks. It was far too advanced for him, but he liked the pictures.

He rolled over on his side as he lost interest, trying to remember what he had wanted to do. His tummy growled then, reminding him.

"Oh there you are, Kirby." It was Fumu. She smiled when she saw what he was reading. "I should have brought some easier books for you. That's my favorite marine life book."

That would explain all the fish pictures, Kirby thought. He really just liked all the colorful pictures. "Pretty!" he chirped. His stomach rumbled again. "Fumu, lunch time?"

"Not yet," she patted him on his head. "You had breakfast a little while ago… Maybe I can read some of the book to you?"

Kirby smiled. Fumu always tried teaching him things. It was thanks mainly to her that he was able to speak more of their language. He needed a lot of encouragement to start speaking she'd found, and of course she was the only one who had the motivation to teach him.

"I used to read to Bun when he was little," Fumu said, opening to her favorite chapter. "He always fell asleep really quick… But he's not interested in anything like that any more."

"Kirby listen," he said.

"Huh?"

Kirby tilted his body to one side. "Kirby hear stories."

"Oh, I see… I can read books to you like I did with Bun."

"Poyo!" he nodded, plopping down on her lap. He didn't really care about the book, but reading made Fumu happy. He forgot all about being hungry.

* * *

"Sir Meta Knight." Sword approached him in the hallway, waited until he responded. Blade was still in the control room.

"Is there a problem?" Meta Knight turned to him. Joe had left earlier, going off to find something else to keep himself occupied. He could never keep still for very long.

"Yes… In that last attack, we found there was some damage to the engine and hull. It could get worse if we leave it. We're going to need to land somewhere in order to repair it, and we might need to replace some parts…" He lowered his head. "I'm sorry sir, Blade and I should have checked sooner. We noticed some of the readings were off…"

"Sword."

"Yes sir?"

"Relax. It's nothing life threatening, and at least you caught it before it did become serious. Is there any planet nearby where we can dock safely?"

Sword paused. "We're looking into that. We aren't familiar with this area."

"Let me take a look." Meta Knight was rather well traveled, and indeed this was a place he'd been to before. Upon returning to the bridge, he gazed at the chart for some time. His eyes stopped on a certain planet… "Maybe… No, not that one…"

"Which one?" Sword asked.

"We should-" He was interrupted as Joe came into the room. "Hello again…"

"Hey. What's going on?" he asked, looking up at the chart.

"We need to find a place to land for repairs. We aren't sure where yet," Blade explained.

Joe stood next to Meta Knight, studying the screen for a few moments before grinning. "There, right there!" he exclaimed, pointing at an undetermined location on the star chart. "That's close, right?"

"Yeah, perhaps an hour away… Why that planet?" Blade asked.

Joe grinned wider. "It's where I grew up! And it's one of the few places Nightmare didn't get his claws on…"

Meta Knight looked up at the screen, his cape wrapped around himself. "It's been a long time since I was there… Very well. Sword, Blade, set a course."

* * *

... 

_Hello again dear reader. Just a note- this story takes place in the same timeline as my other Kirby story 'Flight', so it helps to have read it for certain subplots that may show up, but you don't necessarily have to._


	3. Resentment

_Chapter 3- Resentment_

_

* * *

_

"So your aunt raised you?" Fumu asked. "She must be really nice to do that."

Joe laughed, but in a way that suggested he didn't really find it funny. "Nice! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." He snorted. "She only did because she had to…"

"Oh…" Fumu lowered her eyes. They were still in the control room, though Kirby, her brother and Silica had gone off elsewhere.

"You aunt loves you, Joe," Meta Knight said from behind them. "She's harsh, but don't ever think otherwise."

"Meh…" Joe rubbed his nose. "Well I bet she'll want to kick my ass for running away from home…"

"You ran away?" Fumu turned to him quickly. "Why?"

"You're awfully nosy, you know that?" Joe snapped, giving her a sideways glance before looking out the front window.

Fumu shook her head indignantly. "Fine… I'm going to see what Kirby and Bun are doing." The door hissed closed behind her. Sword and Blade exchanged glances, not saying anything. Neither of them wanted to get involved in any arguments.

Joe turned to Meta Knight. "Was she nicer before my father died or something?"

Meta Knight almost smiled. "No, she always had a rather… unpleasant disposition."

"You can just say she's a bitch, you know." He smirked.

"Ah, sir?" Blade spoke up. "We're approaching the planet's atmosphere and beginning landing procedures."

Meta Knight nodded to the two of them. "Very well." He looked back at Joe. "You _were_ the one who suggested we come here…"

"Yeah yeah, I know… I guess she isn't too bad. She'll probably let us stay with her for a while at least… I hope so, anyway."

* * *

They landed just outside one of the smaller cities, at a small repair shop using Joe's directions. It wasn't as well equipped as Sword and Blade would have liked, but they'd managed with worse. The shop was out of the way, so the group wouldn't gain unwanted attention. Sword, Blade and Silica decided to stay behind and work on repairs, while the rest went along with Joe to find his aunt.

"Well, I think she's still living in the same place…" Joe said a few minutes later. "If she'd moved I'd think she would have contacted me…" He paused. "Then again I really didn't give her any way to do that…"

Fumu sighed. "How long until we get there?"

"Not long; stop whining," Joe said. Kirby was dancing around in front of him, squeaking happily. "What are you so cheerful about?"

"New place!" Kirby exclaimed. "Never been new place…"

"Hey, that's right," Bun said. "Kirby's never been outside of Dreamland, has he?"

"…Neither have we, Bun…" Fumu said with a frown. She'd been so distracted she hadn't even really thought about how they were suddenly on a whole other planet. "…I wonder what kind of people and animals this place has?"

"It's mostly people like me…" Joe said. "But, you won't see many animals in the city." They'd arrived early in the morning so there were few people walking about. Those that were about did look somewhat like him, with pointed ears and varying skin colors from peach to purple.

Bun glanced at one of the lavender skinned ones. "Hey Joe, that reminds me. How come your skin and hair color changed from the first time we met you? Didn't you used to be purple?"

"That's none of your business." His tone was more than enough to stop any more questions on that subject.

Fumu looked up at the buildings around them. It wasn't a large city, but she felt dwarfed by the place. She couldn't imagine growing up in a place like this.

"We're here!" Knuckle Joe said, stopping in front of a row of small, connected houses. The part of town was decent at least, though Fumu was the first to notice a lack of trees or grass around.

"Everything's paved…." she muttered.

"It's a city. That's how cities are." Joe shrugged. "Let's see, should be number six…" He walked over to the correct door and up onto the small concrete porch. "Hey Meta Knight, think she'll recognize you?"

"I'm somewhat hoping she doesn't…" he said quietly, standing next to him. He knocked twice and they waited.

There was no response for a few moments. "Damnit if this is another salesman…" came an easily audible female voice, before the door was suddenly flung open. "What the hell do you want?" The woman standing there looked very much like Joe, perhaps if he was thirty years older and female. Her silver hair was loose but spiky, falling over her face. Long pointed ears with multiple piercings were sticking straight up in surprise. She stopped, mouth gaping. "Joe!" But the moment her eyes fell on Meta Knight her expression became a scowl… and she slammed the door in their faces.

Joe was speechless. Meta Knight just sighed.

"…What was that about?" Fumu asked.

"Well, I told you she didn't like me…" He scoffed. "I did kill her little brother, after all." Meta Knight turned around, stepping off the porch. "She'll let the rest of you in, just let her cool down a bit. I'll be back later."

"Sir Meta Knight!" Fumu called, but he didn't turn around, disappearing around a corner. "Oh…"

The door opened again. "…Oh good. I could have sworn that bastard was with you." Jarle leaned up against the doorjamb, eyes on her nephew. "So, you've come crawling back. You look well."

Joe smirked. "You don't. I'd say you aren't aging very good… Are those wrinkles?" He ducked as she swung at him. "Ha!"

Her eyebrows rose. "You've been training. You could never dodge me before… You haven't grown though, you're still a shrimp." Jarle glanced at the others. "Friends of yours?"

"Yeah… we need a place to stay, our ship is getting repaired."

"Ship?" If she was surprised she didn't show it. "I think you have a lot to tell me kid… Get in here. And don't touch anything."

* * *

Fumu was a little taken aback as they entered the small apartment. It was so… sparse. No pictures on the walls, which were a grungy white, old carpet, old furniture… There were no flowers or plants or any decorations. It was completely different from the feel of the apartment her family lived in or the homes in the village.

"Something wrong, girl?" Jarle asked. A cigarette was hanging from her mouth unlit. "Don't like it? You can stay somewhere else."

"No, it's not that…" she stammered. "It's… nice."

Jarle laughed. She didn't have a very nice laugh. "It's a mess. This is one of the cheapest buildings in the city; it's all I can do to keep everything from falling apart… Why, where are you from?"

"Popstar… This place called Dreamland."

"Dreamland. Sounds like some kind of damned fairy tale theme park or something."

"No, it's not like that…"

Bun was the one who laughed next. "Don't get my sister started on Dreamland; she'll never stop!"

"Bun!" she snapped.

"Where do you live then? Some pristine little cottage in the forest with all your animal friends?" Jarle rummaged in her pocket for a lighter. Fumu fidgeted where she stood. The woman was… unnerving.

"No, I live in the castle with my family… My father's the Cabinet Minister."

She knew that probably hadn't been the best thing to say as Jarle rolled her eyes. "Oh fucking wonderful, Joe brought home _royalty_. Well I'm really sorry the accommodations aren't to your liking, princess." Jarle shook her head… and finally noticed Kirby, who peeked out from behind Fumu. She paled. "Oh not this… Joe. JOE!"

Joe ran back into the room. He'd been checking to see if she'd bothered to keep his things. (She hadn't.) "What's wrong?"

She pointed accusingly at Kirby. "The pink beach ball. Oh please don't tell me you're a weirdo like your father, please…"

"What?" Joe stared at her. "Kirby's a friend of mine."

"Poyo!" he chirped. "…Beach ball?" That was a new one.

Jarle shook her head, taking a deep breath. "Good… I know I saw the other damned ball earlier… He's gone, right?"

"For now I guess…" Joe replied. "So you don't mind us staying here?"

"I do, but I'll let you stay anyway. Even after you ran off four years ago with barely a word. Sure thing." Her voice dripped sarcasm. "Damnit Joe… So what's going on here? Why are you suddenly back with all these people, hm?"

"That's… a long story…"

* * *

Meta Knight paused at an intersection, trying to remember where to go. He hadn't been to this city in over a decade, but he still remembered the streets fairly well. He didn't know where he was going exactly, but it didn't really matter.

A few of the locals gave him odd looks as he passed. It wasn't surprising- seeing someone walking around in full armor in a time of peace would be odd anywhere. That and his being a completely different race. In this place nearly everyone was Joe's kind or a closely related one. He stuck out like a sore thumb- not the best thing to do in his situation.

He didn't know why he'd run away. No, he knew- it was to avoid any conflict with Jarle. But he'd have to go back eventually.

Meta Knight stopped, sitting on a bench for a little while. It was one of the only parks the city had, with a few forlorn trees and a rusted playground. An old man on the other end of the bench smiled at him, head balding and most of his teeth gone. "Have we met?"

He shook his head. "Mm… No, I'm just visiting…."

"Ah, I recall seeing you around. I have a good memory you know."

"The last time I was here was a long time ago…"

The man studied him for a moment through squinted eyes, adjusting his glasses. "Ah, you wouldn't happen to be one of them… Ah whatchamacallits… Galaxy something…"

"Star Warrior?"

"Ah yeah, that's it!"

Meta Knight nodded.

The old man laughed. "That's where I remember ya from! You and that one young man, you'd come here with that little one to play in the park."

Meta Knight looked up at him. The old man really did have a good memory. "I remember now..." He also remembered the park had been nicer then.

The man nodded solemnly. "Mm, I heard the one nice fellow died in the war though, bless his soul… It's hard to lose friends."

Meta Knight focused on the shadows made by the leaves in front of him. "…Yes, it is…"

"Good thing that war's over though… I wanted to join in when I was young, but my wife wouldn't let me! Always nagging, she said she didn't want me going off getting killed…" He shook his head. "But wouldn't it be something to go out heroically in battle, not wasting your life away on a park bench… I guess you're in the same boat as I am then? No more wars to fight."

"I wish it were the case…" Meta Knight said quietly. He jumped off the bench quickly. "It was a pleasure speaking with you, but I must be going… Farewell."

"Eh? Oh, all right. You take care!" The man smiled his toothless smile, and Meta Knight hurried off, wondering if everyone was determined to bring up bad memories today.

* * *

"…That's… really something else kid." Jarle shook her head, leaning back on the tattered couch. "Damn… And I always thought you were an irresponsible punk. Well, I still do…"

Joe grinned. "Hey, trying to save the universe is worth some praise at least!"

"Maybe if you actually do it!" She was finally smiling. "So, the mini beach ball's some kind of legendary hero, eh? I guess I shouldn't be too surprised…" She glanced up at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late; think beach ball senior will be back any time soon?"

"You never know with him…" Fumu said. "He'll disappear for days at a time…. Why do you want to talk to him?"

"I want to kick his ass, that's what I want to do…" She crushed the remains of her cigarette in a half full ashtray. "Oh… Well, good thing I remembered… Joe, a few weeks ago a man came here looking for you."

Joe looked confused. "Eh? Looking for me?"

"Yeah… Nice guy, bit odd though. Definitely not from around here, he had some freaky horns…" She checked her pockets. "Name was… Oh I probably wrote it down somewhere. Probably in a drawer or in the trash by now… But he said he's been looking for you for a while. He might still be in town, but I doubt it… Where's my damned lighter…" She started lifting up seat cushions.

Kirby watched Joe's face as Jarle spoke. He looked pale. "Joe okay?"

Joe didn't respond at first. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine…"

Bun came up next to him, eating a sandwich. "Any idea who it could be? I hope it's not some bad guy."

Joe shook his head. "No… well… no! I just didn't think he'd…"

"Who?" Fumu insisted.

"It's really not any of your business," he said, eyes narrowed.

"Fine." She changed the subject. "Shouldn't we look for Meta Knight? In case something happens…"

"Aw, he can take care of himself. Besides, the bad guys would go after him first, right?" Bun asked, leaning on the back of a chair. "Maybe he wants to lead them away from the rest of us."

"Maybe…" she said. But she had a bad feeling she couldn't shake.

* * *

The bar was crowded. No one would bother him here.

Meta Knight went over to the front table, jumping up onto a barstool. He wasn't particularly thirsty, nor was he interested in drowning his sorrows in alcohol, but he vaguely remembered the old owner got very upset with people coming in and not getting anything. "Mm, just the house ale…" he said when the bartender looked at him.

It was dark out, but he did plan on going back soon. Then again if anyone was going to be followed it would be him… He didn't look up as someone sat next to him.

"Here you go… It'll be 10 credits," the bartender said.

"Ah… right." Meta Knight reached into his cape… and found nothing. He'd left his card on the ship. Wonderful.

"Oh, let me get that…" the man next to him said. "Add it to my tab."

The bartender nodded and handed Meta Knight his drink. Meta Knight looked over at the man and was somewhat surprised to see someone of a different race than the others. Pale blue skin, darker blue hair… and horns.

"You're a Durcasen." He said it a little too bluntly. He didn't really mean to, but it was a surprise to see another…

The man grinned warmly. "That I am… You must be well traveled to know that."

"You could say that… Ah, thank you for…"

"Oh, don't mention it. It's my good deed for the year…" He chuckled. "Mm, forgive my rudeness. My name is Gardell… And who do I have the pleasure of drinking with this evening?"

The stranger seemed friendly enough. He kept up his guard anyway. "Meta Knight."

Gardell's face showed he recognized the name. "Oh, a Star Warrior? Interesting… What brings you to this city?"

"Just getting repairs on my ship…" he said. "And you?"

Gardell grinned a little wider. "Looking for an old friend. Fell out of touch years ago, trying to track him down…"

"Good luck with that."

"Same to you…" Gardell paused for a moment, studying him. "…How exactly do you plan on drinking that with the mask on…?"

"I manage…" he said, and took a drink through the opening in the front. It wasn't terribly difficult. "I normally don't drink, actually…"

"Low tolerance? Good, then I won't have to buy you as many drinks!" Gardell finished off his and ordered another. "Ah, what's bothering you then?"

Meta Knight thought for a moment. "I can't seem to escape the past." Why was he talking to a stranger about this? Well, it didn't matter, did it? Even if this was an enemy, it wasn't as if he was giving any important information. If it _was_ an enemy, then it was too late anyway.

Gardell nodded. "I know the feeling… You always wish you'd done something differently, but you can't undo it… One of the reasons I'm looking for my friend actually. I messed up and want to make it up to him…"

"You're lucky he's alive to forgive you…" It came out more cross than he intended.

"My condolences…" Gardell watched as Meta Knight finished his drink. "Going to have any more?"

"Yes." It was stupid to drink now, he knew. But for some reason he didn't give a damn. "I've had… far too much put on my shoulders the last few days…"

"Then I'd say you deserve some time to relax… Don't worry, it's all on me."

"Thank you… I'll repay you somehow."

Gardell smiled. "Don't worry too much about that."

Some time later, Meta Knight glanced around for a clock. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight… Need to be somewhere?"

Meta Knight shook his head. "Not really." His hand absently strayed to Galaxia's hilt as if to make sure it was still there. He gave a short laugh. "It wouldn't be very hard for someone to take this now, would it…" He felt fine, but after that many drinks he still knew well enough that wasn't really the case. "This is stupid of me… very stupid. If they came now I wouldn't be able to do a thing. You could be one of them and here I am letting you buy drinks for me…" He felt better at least, though it was just false elation brought on by the ale and a few stronger things he'd tried.

Gardell looked confused. "Them…? You aren't going crazy on me, are you Mety?"

"It's Meta Knight… And… I'm fine, really."

"If you say so… Oh, if I'm going to keep buying these, could you do me a small favor?" He reached into a pouch at his side and retrieved a folded piece of paper. "I saw you earlier today with a group of people… I wasn't sure but… is the boy with the spiked hair is named Joe by any chance?"

Meta Knight wasn't sure how to react at first. "…You know him?" Gardell nodded, handing him the paper

"This is the information on where I'm staying and where I'm going next… Please make sure he gets it."

He nodded, putting it away for safekeeping. "You've been following me?"

"Oh no, I just happened to find you in here. Funny how things work out… And if you do this for me, I can help you."

"Help me with what?" he asked, voice low.

Gardell's face was split by a smug grin. "I have… connections. I've heard from some rather unpleasant fellows that there's something big going on over by star system 443G… Something about an army?" He nodded as Meta Knight's expression twitched slightly. "That, and some of these fellows are looking for a masked knight with a golden sword… You're the only masked knight I've seen around."

Meta Knight was silent. Was this man an enemy? Was he trying to lure him into some trap?

Gardell laughed then, sensing his sudden anxiety. "Relax, I just hear a lot. If I wanted to kill you or turn you over to them, I would have all ready. I don't associate with that lot, but I like to keep tabs on them or exploit them…" His grin was a bit more devilish, showing teeth. "What do you say? All you have you do is give that note to Joe, and I'll get some information that's bound to help you…"

"I…" Meta Knight faltered.

"Listen, I've heard these guys have connections to Nightmare. His armies destroyed my home," he said gravely. "I have no reason to side with them."

Meta Knight knew of what had happened to the Durcasen people's home world. It had been attacked at a time after the Star Warrior armies were decimated, and no one had been able to save them. He finally nodded, taking the note. "…Thank you."

Gardell smiled again. "Well then, I've enjoyed this but it's late and I have much to do tomorrow… Think you can find your way back to wherever you're staying?"

"Of course I can…" Meta Knight waved his hand dismissively, despite remembering that there were people trying to find him. He briefly considered asking for Gardell's help, but that just wasn't like him.

"Right then, be careful… I hope we meet again someday. And thanks for giving that to Joe." Gardell patted him on the back and headed for the exit. "I need to be going… See you."

Meta Knight finished off his last drink (he hadn't actually been counting, but he was sure it hadn't been _that_ much), thinking what an odd person that had been. Nice, but… odd. He knew enough about what was going on to make him nervous… And he knew Joe… Even stranger.

He hopped down off the barstool… only to snag his cape on it and nearly fall. Wonderful. Of course it was his cape getting caught that caused it, and not the fact he was having trouble even walking in a straight line. He was sure of the way back at least. Mostly sure. He'd find it eventually.

* * *

"What do you mean he never came back?" Blade exclaimed the next morning. After they had finished repairing the ship the night before, Joe had shown up to tell them where the apartment was. Silica had stayed behind to watch over things. They hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep, but now it was the furthest thing from their minds.

Fumu raised her hands helplessly. "We have no idea where he could have gone."

"He could be in trouble…" Sword said quietly, as if voicing such a thing too loud would cause it to come true.

Jarle walked into the room then, still in her pajamas (or the pajamas she wore when guests were over, at Joe's insistence- an oversized t-shirt). "What the hell is all the racket? It's eight in the damn morning!" She rubbed her eyes. "Who are the tin cans?"

"Oh… These guys are Sword and Blade. They're Meta Knight's flunkies." Joe explained. "Speaking of him, he never came back."

"Ask me why I should care."

Joe shook his head. "Never mind. We need to find him."

"Do whatever you want. I'm going back to bed."

Fumu looked distressed. "I can't understand why he'd run off like that. It's just not like him." Well, going off and vanishing was very much like him- but not in a situation like this.

"Maybe Meda wanna be 'lone." Kirby said. "Joe auntie not like him."

"That's true…" She sighed. "Well, let's go look. Maybe if we split up."

Joe shook his head. "No, not a good idea. You'd better stick with me; I wouldn't want you wandering into the wrong part of town." He opened the front door then, and stopped. Meta Knight was standing there. "You've made our lives a heckuva lot easier."

The first thing he did was reach into his cape and retrieve the note. "Someone I met said to give this to you." While Joe was standing there stunned, Meta Knight walked in past him. "Where's Jarle?"

"Sleeping."

"Good. Is there an extra bed somewhere?"

"…Down the hall to the left…"

"Thank you. We'll be leaving later- I need some rest." He walked slowly down the hall. His head hurt. His head was basically his entire body, so he was not in a good way at the moment.

No one was quite sure what to say for a long, awkward moment. The silence was then unpleasantly interrupted by an angry screech, followed by a clank, then a thud as Meta Knight was kicked down the hallway and into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.

Joe glanced up from the note, obviously distracted. "Sorry, I meant to the right."

Meta Knight winced as he saw Jarle stomp towards him, as he was upside down against the wall.

"You son of a bitch," she snarled, standing over him. "I told you to never come here again. I don't care what the reason is; you are not welcome here." She was absolutely livid. No one in the room said anything for fear of her turning on them instead.

Meta Knight closed his eyes. "…Jarle… Before you go on… would you please put some clothes on? Or at least something on under the shirt."

This was not the right thing to say to Jarle.

He expected to get punched… and was rather surprised when it didn't happen. He gingerly opened his eyes to see Kirby standing next to Jarle, tugging on her shirt.

"Poyo! Stop it! Meda nice. Don't hit… Meda sorry. He not wanna make 'u mad…" Kirby said quietly.

She let her hand drop. She started to say something but stopped and turned, walking stiffly back to her room. The door slammed shut.

Kirby rolled Meta Knight onto his feet. "Meda okay?"

"I'm fine… I'm just tired."

"What was that all about?" Bun asked, mouth agape. "Joe, your aunt is scary!"

"Why does she still hold a grudge about it?" Fumu said, walking up to Meta Knight. "Doesn't she know it wasn't your fault?"

Meta Knight put his hand to his head. He felt even worse. "I don't know… I honestly don't care. I just want to rest a while." Without another word he walked back down the hallway- to the correct room this time.

Joe folded the note in his hands. "I'm going out for a bit too… I'll be back later."

Fumu groaned. "Oh, not you too… Can you at least tell us where you're going?"

Joe bit his lip, looking unusually distressed. "Fine, fine… Here." He grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen from a low table in the hallway, jotting it down. "That's the address. See ya."

Fumu looked at the note. "Hey, when are you going to be back- hey!" Joe was all ready gone, slamming the door behind him. "What is it with everyone lately!"

Blade shrugged, though the question hadn't been aimed at anyone in particular. "It's a stressful time. Everyone's going to be a bit crazy…"

"Think Jarle would mind if we slept on the couch or something?" Sword wondered with a yawn. "We were up all night…"

Kirby was looking worriedly down the hallway. He didn't like it when people were shouting and fighting like this. There was too much tension.

"Come on Kirby, let's leave Meta Knight alone…" Fumu said, leading him away. "Want to read some more books?"

"Poyo…"

* * *

He was holding the locket in his hands. He could almost imagine the blood was still on it, but he'd cleaned it off carefully. Now he needed to give it to him… to his son. He tucked it carefully back into his cape before knocking.

The door opened slowly. "What are you doing here? Where's my stupid brother?"

He had no idea what to say. He'd planned before, over and over, what he was going to say to her. It was his responsibility to tell her what had happened. But no matter how he could say it…

His silence was enough, and her face told him she understood. "…What happened?" She still asked, voice hollow.

"I…" He swallowed hard. "He was captured." Could he just leave it at that? No, that was almost worse, for her never to know what really happened. "I was going to tell you, but… he came back."

"He escaped." Hope, for just a fleeting moment.

"No… Nightmare… He couldn't fight it… He was under his control." She didn't say anything, forcing him to finish. "I'm sorry. He attacked us… There was nothing we could do."

He couldn't see her eyes behind her hair. "What happened to him?"

He spoke automatically. "I'm sorry. We… we were attacked- there was no time. It happened quickly… He had no control over his actions, and I had to defend myself." It sounded like such a weak excuse.

"You killed him."

"There was nothing we could do; he'd all ready turned into a dem-"

She suddenly lunged forward, tackling him to the ground, teeth gritted. "What do you mean there was nothing you could do! You didn't even try to save him! There had to have been something! You didn't even fucking try!"

"There was nothing that could be done!" He exclaimed, his voice faltering. He didn't know that. Maybe they could have, but he…? He wasn't even sure. Everything had gone horribly wrong.

She saw the uncertainty in his eyes. "You killed him." He could see her eyes now as well. She was crying. She never cried. "You…" She stood up, backing away from him. "Get away from here."

"Please, I need to-"

"Get the fuck away from here. If I ever see you come near me or Joe I will kill you."

A tiny voice came from the open door behind her.

"Auntie?"

"Get back inside," she snapped. Her eyes were burning on him. "Get. Away. Now."

He got to his feet. "Please let me see Joe, I have to-"

She made as if to strike him… but stopped short. "Don't ever come back here." She turned quickly, going inside and slamming the door.

He stood there for a long moment. A little face appeared in the window, smiling and waving to him, until he was pulled away and the curtains drawn.

He looked at the locket again. He'd wait a few days, until she calmed down.

* * *

Meta Knight wasn't sure if he'd actually fallen asleep. He'd lain there for what seemed like hours, just staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes wearily.

He had gone back, a few days later- to find an empty house. She'd moved, and he'd never been able to find her. At least he'd been able to get the locket to Joe eventually.

He reluctantly got up and left the room. It was quiet, a good sign that Jarle was still in her room. He didn't want to confront her again… He saw Sword and Blade sleeping on the couch and walked over, nudging Sword.

"Mmmwha?" he mumbled.

"Are the repairs done?"

"Repairs… Oh!" he sat up quickly, nearly knocking Blade off the couch. "Yeah… I mean, yes sir, everything's fine. Silica said she'd stay behind to check things over and guard the ship."

Blade was adjusting his helmet. "Where did you go last night? Everyone was worried."

Meta Knight smiled a little. "I go off on my own all the time, why ask about it now?"

"Er… sorry sir, it's just that now… with all that's happened…"

He nodded. "Yes, I understand… I just… needed some time to think."

"Oh…"

"Do you know where Kirby and the others are?" Meta Knight inquired.

Blade thought for a moment. "Mm, they're around here somewhere. Joe left a while ago though, he's not back yet."

"Ah…" Meta Knight suddenly had some doubts about the fellow he'd met the night before. But then again, Joe was perfectly capable of handling himself, so he didn't worry. "Well, once he gets back I suppose we'll go back to the ship."

"Good idea," Sword said, stretching. "Long night… But everything's in good shape now, we should make it to the base with no problem." He saw Meta Knight's expression change. "That is still the plan, right?"

"…I'm really not sure what the plan is."

The two young knights exchanged glances. "Not sure…?" Blade asked.

Meta Knight sat on the couch next to them. "Honestly, no. I have some ideas, but nothing that doesn't have a huge chance of getting us all killed. I didn't want to say anything… Truly, the only ones who need to go are Kirby and myself. I don't even want to bring Kirby along, but I have no choice…"

"We couldn't let you go alone!" Blade exclaimed. "It's too dangerous!"

Meta Knight laughed quietly. "Anything that was too dangerous for me would be too dangerous for you as well, no offense… I know I can't keep you from coming, but… I don't want anything happening to you because of me…"

"We'll be fine; don't worry about us." Sword assured him. "What about Fumu and Bun?"

"We're going to be leaving them here if we can. It's far too dangerous to bring them along."

"Doesn't Kirby need Fumu to call the WarpStar?"

He shook his head. "I think if the time calls for it, he could do it himself. He's capable of it now… Fumu cares for him like he was her child, but she could be a liability…" He recalled how Nightmare had taken her away to lure Kirby. He didn't need that happening again.

"What about Joe?"

"He's going to come with whether we like it or not, I imagine. Same with Silica." At least they were both competent fighters.

The three were quiet for a moment until Blade spoke. "Well, we can try helping you come up with a plan."

"Yeah," Sword agreed. "Silica would probably have some good ideas too."

"Thank you… Perhaps later though, once we're back at the ship." He glanced around for a clock, seeing none. "What time is it? Joe needs to get back soon…"

"Almost noon… Did you get any sleep? You still look exhausted," Blade said.

"I am… but I'll be fine." He got up, stopping as he saw Jarle enter the room. She said nothing, walking past the couch towards the small kitchen.

"Hm, she didn't try killing you." Sword whispered with some surprise. "Maybe she didn't see you?"

"I heard that," she snapped. "We don't have the ears for show. And maybe after I've had lunch I'll try it."

"We're going to go… see how Kirby is or something…" Blade said hurriedly as he and Sword made their exit. Meta Knight was baffled.

"…I thought you two wanted to protect me…" he mumbled. But he couldn't blame them for not wanting to get involved.

Jarle looked at him for a moment before rummaging around for something to make a sandwich with. She scowled upon finding the bread had something green and fuzzy growing on it.

Meta Knight stepped into the kitchen, still keeping his distance. Jarle had cooled down somewhat, and he was thankful for that.

"I notice you're still here. Why is that?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Jarle, please stop this. It's a foolish grudge and you know it."

She tensed, but continued making her lunch.

"Hating me won't change what happened."

"It makes me feel better."

"Fine… But, I have one question for you."

"Ask if you want, doesn't mean I'll answer."

He sighed. "…Why didn't you tell Joe what happened?"

Jarle didn't reply right away, rummaging through a cabinet.

"You never told him that I was the one who killed Jecra… Or that he was a Star Warrior. Why did you hide that from him?" It was risky to ask, but he had to know.

She turned, leaning against the counter. "I… I just told him a Star Warrior killed his father…"

"What? Why?"

"I wanted Joe to hate them. I didn't want him to try to be one like his father…" She frowned, setting a plate from the cabinet down on the counter. "What, do you think I'm an idiot? If Joe knew his father was one, he'd want to be one too, and he'd get killed just like my stupid brother."

There was some logic to it, he thought… "…And why didn't you say it was me?"

She was quiet again, looking away with a kind of crooked smile. "Because I didn't want Joe to hate _you_… Jecra wouldn't have liked that at all. He cared about you…" She laughed. "Oh, I had to hide so many of my photos from Joe, I was so worried about him finding out and asking questions. All it did was piss him off and make him leave like he did."

"Why do you still hate me then?"

She shrugged. "I guess I just can't drop a grudge. It's not like me. Jecra knew that…" Despite her words, she seemed to have burnt out what anger she still held. Few grudges could last over a decade.

"True… Thank you."

"For what?" She gave him an odd look.

"Telling me all this… and not trying to kill me."

"Don't push your luck…" She'd given up on lunch. "Don't you have some kind of universe saving thing to be worrying about? …Speaking of that, where the hell is Joe?"

"I believe he went to see that Gardell person."

"Figures. Well at least he got some kind of positive male role model…" She shrugged. "I should have asked him to do some grocery shopping or something… When are you all leaving anyway?"

"Soon… To stay longer might put you in danger too."

"Great."

"I must ask for another favor though… We need to leave Fumu and her brother here…"

"No."

Meta Knight winced. "Please, Jarle. It's not safe to bring them with us. They have no way to defend themselves. It shouldn't be for long."

"Ssh!" she suddenly hissed, eyes on the living room. "Okay, who's hiding over there?"

A little pink face peeked out from behind the couch. "Poyo! Not spying…"

"Where's Fumu?" Meta Knight asked.

"Reading. Bun playing game."

"You know we aren't taking them along?"

Kirby nodded. "Poyo… Not want them hurt… it safer here." He toddled over to the two of them. "Not mad?" He looked up at Jarle.

"No, just hungry at the moment." She frowned. Kirby smiled up at her, and she couldn't help the corners of her mouth turning up the slightest bit. "You could give people cavities, you know that?"

"Poyo!"

She finally grinned, but it was a mean one. "Hard to believe this other beach ball here looks just like that, eh?"

Meta Knight said nothing to counter that. "You don't seem to mind Kirby as much as me."

"Of course not. Kirby's different. He talks less for one. He's…I don't know. I kind of like him."

Kirby looked quite happy to hear this, spinning around in front of her.

"He gets along very well with Joe too… You must remind him of your nephew."

"I guess…" she said, reaching down to pet the little pink creampuff. It was an odd gesture from her, Meta Knight noted. She was never gentle with anyone.

"Once Joe gets back we'll be leaving… I'm sorry for getting you involved in this."

"It's all right. Call this my way of making up for me trying to kill you."

He actually laughed. "Jarle, you would need to do a lot more than this to make up for that…"

"You are really pushing your luck. Damned beach ball…"

Kirby smiled, happy to see that everyone was getting along.

* * *

It was late afternoon when the front door opened slowly, the one holding the handle not wanting to be heard. He was anyway, and Joe froze when he saw Meta Knight at the end of the hallway.

"Finally… Get whatever you need, we're leaving. We're not bringing Fumu and Bun so don't let them know."

"Y-Yeah… Fine." Joe said hurriedly, rushing past him to his room and closing the door. He had been carrying something. Meta Knight looked confused for a moment, but waited several minutes until Joe came back out… wearing a different outfit consisting of a blue shirt and black shorts, rather than his normally loose outfit. Different shoes as well he noted- steel toed.

"…It was a present…" he mumbled. "Really durable material or something, easy to fight in…"

"Well, that was nice of him…"

Joe said something inaudible.

"What?"

"Nothing! Oh, Gardell had some things he needed me to tell you… about Nightmare's new base?"

Meta Knight nodded. "Yes… Good. He said he was an old friend of yours… I hope you had a nice reunion."

Joe was quiet again for a moment, his face seeming to turn red- then again the lighting was dim in the hallway and it was hard to tell. "Ah, yeah, of course… We're going then?"

"If you have everything you need, then yes. Sword and Blade have already left with Kirby."

"Let's go then… The sooner we get out of here, the better."

* * *

"I think it was a bit cruel of you to leave them with my aunt," Joe commented as they headed back to the ship, "since you know her almost as well as I do…"

"I probably know her better… I told her I'd pay her back for everything. Money won't be an issue…" If you waited long enough, a little deposit gained a lot of interest... And Meta Knight had more than one nest egg- just in case.

"Well, even with that… I don't see those two lasting a day there. Fumu would kill herself without any trees to go hug, and there's no place around for Bun to play."

"I take it you didn't have an easy childhood…"

"Oh it was easy for me, but then… I'm me. Those two grew up in a castle. They can't fend for themselves…"

"That's precisely the reason I'm not bringing them with us, Joe."

"I know we can't, but I don't want them to have to deal with my Aunt any more than I want to!"

Meta Knight laughed. "I think it might be a good experience for them…"

"If you say so."

Silica and Kirby met them at the garage.

"Have fun?" Silica asked, smirking. "Well while you all were off playing, I did a few tune ups… And a modification or two to the weapons system."

Kirby looked much more somber than usual. He looked to Meta Knight.

"They'll be safe here, trust me," he assured him. Parting with them wouldn't be easy for the young Star Warrior, but it was necessary.

"My aunt could handle anything that might come, don't worry pal!" Joe said, suddenly cheerful. "We'll be back to pick them up in no time."

Kirby still didn't look very happy, but he smiled a little anyway. "Poyo… Okay." They knew better than he did. If Meta Knight said they'd be safer, then that's what he wanted too. He was just upset that he couldn't say goodbye.

To be continued


	4. Deception

_Chapter 4 – Deception_

_

* * *

_

They were once again on their way, cloaking before takeoff. They detected no other ships in the vicinity, aside from merchant ships on their normal routes. No one said it, but they all suspected that they were only getting so close because their enemy was allowing them to.

Meta Knight put his hand to Galaxia's hilt, hoping the ancient soul within could offer him some much-needed advice. It was silent. The sword rarely spoke directly, normally appearing as a calm presence in his mind. It was still a soothing feeling and he welcomed it.

He looked over as Kirby walked into the room, face plainly showing his mood.

"I'm sorry we couldn't bring them," Meta Knight said softly.

Kirby shrugged a little, sitting down next to him.

The little Star Warrior was quiet, only leaning against him slightly. It seemed being there made him feel better. Meta Knight couldn't very well tell him to leave if that was what he wanted…

"You never used to want to be around me, you know…" Meta Knight said.

"Meda never around…"

"…I suppose that's true." He was quiet a moment. "Kirby…?" In the span of only a few seconds Kirby had fallen asleep- and also wrapped himself in Meta Knight's cape. And Meta Knight didn't really have the heart to wake him.

* * *

Knuckle Joe leaned back in one of the chairs on the bridge, staring out one of the side windows, a half eaten snack on the ship's controls next to him. He was apparently so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Silica approaching until she was right next to him.

"You'd better not get any crumbs in there."

Joe jerked forward with a startled cry, nearly falling out of the chair. "Don't do that!"

She smirked. "Sorry. What's so interesting out there?"

He waved his hand. "Eh, nothing. Just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself kid…"

Joe lifted an eyebrow. "Kid? I'm only a few years younger than you. You're a 'kid' too."

"Yeah yeah… You went shopping while you were out?" she asked suddenly, noticing his outfit.

Joe… might have blushed. "N-No. It was a present."

"Oh?" Silica grinned. "From who?"

"An old friend…" he mumbled.

"An old girlfriend maybe…?" she teased.

"No… It's nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"Maybe it's none of your business!" Joe exclaimed. "Sheesh… Just some guy who helped me out a few years back."

Silica was quiet for a moment before shrugging. "Sorry for asking. You've been acting weird since you got back."

"Yeah, well, a lot's happened. Gimme a break."

Silica left the room, leaving Knuckle Joe as well as Sword and Blade who had been keeping an eye on the ship's readings as usual.

"I think she likes you," Blade piped up.

"Shut up," Joe scowled. "What, just because she's a girl, we should hook up? She reminds me too much of my aunt. She can go fu-"

"Hey, maybe we shouldn't start fighting amongst ourselves," Sword interjected. "It's not good for morale."

"Yeah, I guess…" Joe said, spinning in the chair for a few moments before stopping to face the two knights. He stared at them for a moment. "Can I ask a personal question?"

They exchanged glances. "Ah… how personal?"

"Not very… Just… Are you two robots or something? Some kind of sentient suits of armor?"

It was very quiet for a long time before the two of them burst into laughter. He couldn't say he'd ever heard them laugh either.

"What gave you that idea?" Blade asked, leaning against the controls.

"Well… We've been on this ship for days and I haven't seen you guys without all the metal yet," Joe said. "Doesn't it get uncomfortable?"

"We're pretty used to it… We've found it's easier to keep it on instead of fumbling around for it if there's an attack or something," Sword explained.

Joe coughed. "You do take it off to shower, right?"

"Oh, of course. It would be silly not to," Blade said.

"Right…" Joe spun in the chair again. "Well, take off your helmets at least."

The both stopped what they were doing. "What?"

Joe frowned. "What, do you have something to hide? They look goofy anyway. Come on."

The two of them really weren't sure what to say, but then again they really didn't have a reason not to…

"You're really insistent…" Sword muttered, reaching up to undo the strap at his chin, Blade doing the same. Joe glanced back out the window as he waited. He half wondered what kind of bizarre alien races they must be to always go around hidden like that…

He heard a clang. "All right, happy now?" Blade asked.

"Yeah I-" Joe turned, sentence cut off as he actually saw him. "…You're a kid too! And a girl!"

"I'm not a girl," Blade snapped. He was far plainer looking that any of the strange things Joe had imagined. He had soft features and tan-orange skin, with long red hair pulled back into the ponytail that Joe had assumed was part of the helmet.

"And we're not that young…" Sword added. "Our races age a bit slower than most. I guess… in a way we're close in age with you then."

Joe didn't say anything, staring at him. Pale blue-gray skin, deep blue hair- lighter than _his_… And two ridged ebony horns on the back of his head. "You look like him…"

"Huh?" Sword looked confused. "Like who?"

"N-Nothing," Joe said quickly. But even aside from that he _knew_ he'd seen Sword's face before… but where? "Heh, I guess that explains why you wear that weird helmet…"

Sword walked over to him, brow furrowed. "You've seen someone that looks like me?"

"Well… Ah damnit that reminds me… I needed to tell Meta Knight some things. Important stuff, can't wait!" Joe said hurriedly, rushing from the room.

"…"

"Everyone's going crazy," Sword said in disbelief, slumping into the nearest chair. Blade stood to his side. "Is it just me?"

"No…" Blade smiled. "It's… not a good time for anyone right now…"

Sword reached for his helmet, but Blade stopped him.

"You know, I think Joe's right. We wear them too much."

"You're going crazy too…."

* * *

Meta Knight looked over the notes Joe had given him. "This is… impressive." They were in his quarters once again, the door closed. The papers had notes about weapons shipments, locations of smaller bases- it seemed too good to be true.

Joe grinned. "Yeah, Gardell's good with these sorts of things. Resourceful and all… He has better connections than me."

"It was kind of him to help us like this… That is, providing all this is true…"

"It is. He's trustworthy," Joe insisted. "He wouldn't have any reason to lie."

"I believe you; you would know him better than I." Meta Knight looked over the notes for another moment. "Hm…"

"What is it?" Joe asked, looking over his shoulder.

"He knows trade ship routes… Including the ones that are supplying Nightmare's bases."

"Oh yeah, Gardell knows a lot about different black market routes and stuff… What's important about that, though?"

Meta Knight traced his finger over the words. "I have an idea…"

* * *

Silica was quiet, listening as Meta Knight spoke. Joe stood nearby, with Kirby lying on his head.

Meta Knight pointed to the star chart on the main screen, with their current location and their destination circled in red, their course marked by a glowing line. Another course appeared coming from the right, also going to the base.

"This is the course traveled by several supply ships. According to Gardell's notes, some of them are also heading for Nightmare's base. What we need to do is intersect it and get on board."

"Are you crazy?" Silica exclaimed. "You don't think they'd expect that?"

"They don't know we have this information about the ships. These merchants aren't supposed to be on that route, but they're apparently being paid well to supply them. We'll adjust our course slightly so we'll meet up with them. Make it look like chance, and we'll make it look like we're stopping them for extra supplies."

"It could work," she said pensively. "And we could set this ship on the same course to the base, so it should at least fool them for a while."

"Since sneaking in is our best chance…" Joe said, poking at Kirby. "Quit pulling my hair."

"Sowwy…"

"I guess…" Silica said quietly. "Once we get there we can't go in guns blazing. We'll need to find one of their guys and get information on just where Nightmare is. If he's even there."

"He's expecting us… He'll be there." Meta Knight said, eyes down. He briefly wondered what form their enemy would be in. Surely not the giant he had appeared as last time, not with his power so depleted. Would he have any form at all? Anything that could really be killed? Or was this all only his influence still at work?

Silica nudged his arm, noticing how quiet he'd become. "Hey. I'm… sorry for doubting you before. This could work out…"

"Thank you. But we still all have to consider the possibility that none of us will survive this."

"Way to be optimistic," Joe said, rolling his eyes. Meta Knight smiled wryly behind his mask.

"I'm trying to be realistic. This is far more dangerous now. Before we can even face Nightmare, we'll still have to deal with his new army."

"Pssh, no problem," the boy said dismissively. "Can't we just blow the place up like last time?"

"We might. But we'll need a quick way out. There most likely won't be an upload system this time," Meta Knight pointed out. "But unfortunately we won't know until we get there… Let's look at this one step at a time."

"Yeah, like what about the other ship's crew? I bet they'd contact Nightmare about us being there as soon as they could," Joe said.

"That's why we'll tie them up and shove them in a closet somewhere," Silica answered.

"Seems a bit harsh, but I like how you think."

"There are still a lot of things we'll need to work out…" Meta Knight said thoughtfully. "But I suppose-"

They were interrupted then as the door slid open. Silica jumped up as, unsurprisingly, she didn't recognize the red and blue haired boys standing there.

Meta Knight stood up, confused. "Sword, Blade, what's wrong?"

Sword sighed, pushing the third figure into view. Fumu looked less than thrilled, not meeting any of their eyes.

"Fumu!" the three of them exclaimed, while Kirby jumped up happily.

"We detected someone in the loading bay… I have no idea how she got in without us knowing…" Blade said, looking sheepish. "I guess it's sort of impressive that she could though…"

Meta Knight walked over to them, looking at Fumu. "Where is your brother?"

"I left him with Jarle… I overheard you talking about leaving us there."

"Then you know why I chose to."

She looked up then, hands clenched into fists. "You had no right to do that! I'm not helpless, I can help too!"

"Fumu… I did it for your own good," His voice was strained. "Despite whatever happened last time, this is going to be different. You are not going to be able to defend yourself, and frankly we can't always be there to defend you. There's a good chance all of us could be killed, and you, without any training or weapons, would be an easy target."

Fumu stepped back slightly, troubled by how coldly he was speaking. "Y-You gave me some training though."

"I did _once_, Fumu. That was enough to deal with some bullies, but this is a completely different level," he said brusquely. "Do you realize that we're going to have more trouble having to protect you now?"

"I don't need to be protected, I-" she started, but Joe interrupted.

"Sorry to say this, but he's right. Even if we gave you a weapon, would you know how to use it?"

"I could learn."

"In two days?"

Still she stood her ground. "Well what are you going to do, turn around and take me back?"

"No. We can't very well do that now." Meta Knight said, turning away. "Joe… maybe you could show her some basic defense moves. It would be something at least."

Joe mumbled something inaudible. "Yeah yeah…"

Fumu left then, presumably to her room. Kirby started to follow, but then wasn't quite sure. He looked at Meta Knight. "Meda angry?"

"You could say that… I'll be in my quarters." He left as well, Sword and Blade stepping out of his way. Joe was next, Kirby tagging along behind. Silica shook her head at this turn of events. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much of a problem…

She paused as she walked by Sword and Blade, looking at both of them intently.

"…What?" Sword said, lifting an eyebrow.

"I always thought you two were robots or something," she remarked with a small shrug.

"We get that a lot." Blade said. "Well… it'll be about six hours until we rendezvous with the other ship, so we should make some preparations…"

"I'll help," she grinned. "I think you two are about the only normal ones sometimes."

* * *

Kirby could see the merchant ship on the front view screen, getting larger as they approached. It wouldn't be long now. "Poyo…" he glanced back at the others. Meta Knight's eyes were unreadable, while Joe looked somewhat worried. Kirby found that odd, as so little really bothered the boy… Silica was helping Sword and Blade set the ship's course, and Fumu stood off by herself.

"Opening a connection…" Sword announced. He pressed a sequence of buttons and the main view screen flickered before a rather gruff looking man of an almost frog-like species appeared on it.

"Whad'ya want?" he asked in a slurred version of the common language.

Meta Knight stepped forward. "We're on a long voyage and we wish to trade for necessary supplies."

"Trade, eh? Whatcha got?"

"We have a small stock of energy weapons and some valuable minerals."

The frogman put his hand to his chin. "Well, we're always lookin' ta add to our weapon collection. Get yer ship to our starboard side, that's where our docking bay is."

"Very well." The screen went black. "Well, so far so good… Sword, Blade- are the other preparations complete?"

"Yes sir. Everything should be ready," Sword replied. "Once we're in, this ship will detach and continue on the course we've set."

"How many on the other ship?"

"We can detect four people on the bridge. It's the standard for a merchant vessel that size, so there shouldn't be any more," Blade said. "Once we're on, there should be a secure place to lock them up. The ship is a lot slower than this one, so it will take a little longer to reach the base. It also has little in the way of offense or defense…"

"Then we have to make sure no one wants to attack us. As it is, this ship is a well known target." Meta Knight wondered for a moment why they hadn't been attacked again so far. There was a feeling he couldn't quite shake… Then again, anything they did now had its risks.

There was a shudder as their ship connected to the other, opening a path between them to transport goods.

"Let's get going already!" Joe exclaimed. "We've been standing around way too long."

"Poyo!" Kirby agreed. The two of them hurried out, followed by Silica, Sword and Blade. Fumu hesitated, looking to Meta Knight.

"This is what you wanted," he said, glancing over at her.

"I know…" she said quietly, "but I won't be a burden."

Meta Knight said nothing, leaving the control room. She followed a few moments after.

* * *

Thankfully this step of the plan was the easy one. Joe and Silica made short work of the crew, locking them up in a small jail cell on the lower level. Meta Knight spoke with the captain, telling him only that he would require him to contact other ships if necessary- and that failure to do so would result in him being jettisoned from an airlock.

Meta Knight watched as their ship flew off into the distance, becoming a speck and then vanishing among millions of star. It would serve as a good decoy for now. They would continue along the merchant ship's original path, arriving a short time later. Though he imagined that, upon finding that ship empty, Nightmare's forces might be more suspicious of other vessels…

"We'll arrive in two days or so, if nothing happens," Blade said, sounding a bit frustrated with the old ship's controls. He, Sword and Meta Knight were the only ones on the bridge.

"I wonder if I've made the right decision," Meta Knight said quietly.

"About taking this ship? I think it was a good idea, Sir…" Sword said. "Considering the circumstances, I'm not sure what else we could be doing now. There aren't many options."

"True…" Things didn't seem hopeless, but it could be better. "You two have been running the ship since we started. Go get some rest; I can watch things for now."

"Oh, er, we're fine, really," Blade stammered.

"That's an order. Go, both of you."

"Thank you, Sir… We'll be back in a while." Sword smiled. "We did remember to bring our food supplies on board, right? I don't even want to think about they might have to eat on this scrapheap…"

"We got most of it, don't worry."

"Thank goodness…"

Meta Knight listened as their voices faded down the hallway. He looked over the controls and computers. They were old, but it was a system he was familiar with. Being on this slow, bulky ship didn't give him much peace of mind, but it was too late to worry about such things now.

Now they waited.

* * *

Kirby walked down unfamiliar hallways, feet squeaking and echoing off the rust streaked walls. He didn't like this ship. It was old and creaky and he just didn't like it. And he was pretty sure he was lost.

"Poyoo…" he whimpered. He was embarrassed more than scared though. He was supposed to be a soldier who saved everyone, and here he was getting lost.

"Fumu? Joe?" he called, his voice echoing back to him. No answer. He sighed, toddling along and realizing that he was also hungry. Alone, lost and hungry. It wasn't really his day.

The little Star Warrior turned a corner then, and was quite surprised and happy to find Joe sitting there on a bunch of boxes set in a corner. But the boy didn't seem to even notice him at first, staring out a small window in the wall next to him.

"Joe!" Kirby squeaked, jumping onto a crate next to him. Joe flinched in surprise, getting into a defensive position right away. He relaxed as he saw who it was.

"Jeez, don't do that…"

"Sowwy Joe…" Kirby said, sitting down next to him. "What wrong?"

"Eh?"

"Joe not happy? Get to fight bad guys."

"Oh yeah… I am."

"Joe look sad…"

"I'm fine, really. Why do you care?"

Kirby titled his body to one side. "Worried."

Joe was quiet at first. "Don't worry about me, okay?" He looked out the window again, knees up against his chest. He suddenly laughed. "I can't believe myself. Here we are trying to save the universe and I'm hung up over my own stupid problems."

"Not stupid…" Kirby assured him. He noticed then something Joe had in his hands. It looked like a photograph. "What that?"

Joe glanced over at him, holding out the photo so he could see. "I've told you about him before. Don't you remember?"

Kirby nodded, only vaguely remembering that time over a year ago. "Gaadell?" he said, having a hard time saying the name clearly.

Joe smiled. "Yeah. Well I found him again… Or he found me."

"Poyo?" Kirby looked up from the picture. He smiled, vaguely remembering how Joe had told him they had been friends. "Joe not happy?"

"I wanted to see him again… But I'm not sure if I should have."

"Poyo… But… Gaadell Joe friend…" Kirby didn't see what was so confusing about this.

"…It's more complicated than that. You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe I would, in that case."

Joe and Kirby looked up in shock as Silica walked around the corner, arms crossed.

"H-How long have you been there?" Joe exclaimed angrily, amazed at himself for not noticing.

"Long enough… You've been acting weird since you got back. You know perfectly well this situation is serious. You can't let yourself get preoccupied over other things right now."

"Shut up." Joe stood, his hands balled into fists at his side. "You're the last person I need lecturing me right now."

"I'm not lecturing. Maybe I just want to know what's going on."

"That's not any of your business."

"It sounds like it is. Wasn't this Gardell person the one who gave us the information about this ship? How do you really know this isn't all some trap?"

"Because he wouldn't do that!" Joe shouted. "I know we can trust him."

"Then what the hell are you whining about? Something about that guy is bothering you, which leads me to believe he might not be so damned trustworthy!" she snapped.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Tell me then."

Joe averted his eyes a moment. "He was someone I met a few years ago when I first ran away from my aunt's place… He let me stay with him for a while and he helped me out. He's… He's a good person. He wouldn't do anything to hurt me, or the people I know. He doesn't have any reason to."

"Sounds like a manipulative creep to me."

"Shut up! You've never even met him."

She scoffed. "I'm not stupid. I've met my fair share of nice people who tried to stab you in the back later. That guy could have used his connection to you in order to get at Meta Knight and Kirby."

"He would never work for Nightmare. Nothing in the world would make him do that."

"Then why the hell are you so upset! If he's such a good person like you say…" Silica asked intently, now standing right in front of him.

Joe wasn't used to being confronted like this. He didn't talk about his problems- usually his problems could be dealt with by beating the shit out of them until they went away. Silica was becoming a tempting target. "It doesn't have anything to do with that."

"You're not convincing me."

Kirby stood by helplessly. He didn't like the way they were fighting, but he didn't want to get between them either. "Poyo…"

"It… It doesn't have anything to do with this. It's personal, all right?"

"You don't think we can trust him, do you? I can see by how you're acting."

"No! It's not…" Joe shook his head. "It's nothing to do with that, for the last time!" He shoved her. "Get away!"

She shoved back. "I don't care how much you think of that guy as a friend, there's a chance you're being used and it could hurt all of us." Her tone softened somewhat. "And maybe I'm worried about one of my friends, all right?"

That took Joe off guard somewhat. He stood back, looking away. "I can't… I don't even know what the problem is, okay? I just… I don't know…" He was so frustrated and he couldn't help it. He berated himself over getting so upset in the first place…

"Listen… Joe. It would be better to get this figured out now than for it to keep bothering you later. It would be a distraction if you were fighting or something, right?"

"…Yeah…" Joe sat back on one of the boxes, looking down at the plated floor. "Kirby knows some of it, but he doesn't really understand… He's a good listener, but he can't do much else. No offense."

"Poyo." Kirby smiled.

Silica did as well. "Tell me about this guy, then."

* * *

Meta Knight hadn't been paying as much attention to his surroundings as he should have, and when he finally saw Fumu standing nearby he wasn't sure how long she'd be standing there.

"…Yes?"

She bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry about coming here. After you said not to…"

He sighed, mostly out of exhaustion than annoyance with her. "I really should have expected it. You're far too stubborn for your own good… But it may not be as much of a problem as I said. I shouldn't have gotten so angry with you."

Fumu smiled a little. "Well, I guess you're under a lot of pressure."

"That's an understatement."

"Isn't there anything I can do to help everyone?" she said, realizing that so far she really hadn't been doing anything. "Joe was showing me some defense techniques earlier but he was kind of distracted…"

"Hm… Later we'll see if there are some smaller weapons that you could use. Ever used a gun?"

"No…"

"It doesn't take very much training to pull a trigger… For now, perhaps you could learn about this ship's computer systems."

"I've never used a computer either…"

"Don't worry, this one isn't terribly complicated."

He showed her some of the basic controls for a few moments, before she suddenly changed the subject as she remembered.

"What ever happened with you and Jarle?"

"Hm? Oh… She doesn't want to kill me quite as much any more. It's a lot of progress, really."

She laughed, and then looked a bit worried. "I wonder if Bun will be okay with her…"

"He'll be fine. It will be a good life experience for him…" He wasn't sure if he should pity the boy or not. Still, Jarle wouldn't hurt him or anything. Not much.

"But he'll be so mad to know I left without him…"

"Why didn't you bring him?"

She laughed a bit nervously. "Too dangerous…"

"It's for the best, then."

It was quiet for a moment as Meta Knight checked some of the readings from the engine. The ship was old but stable at least.

"Does it still bother you?" Fumu asked suddenly.

"Does what bother me?"

"About… Joe's father and everything. When you left that one night, I thought that was why…"

He didn't answer right away, focusing on the screen in front of him. His voice was soft. "You'd think after a decade a memory would start to fade. I've seen more people die than you will probably ever know in your life, but this one happens to be a particularly painful memory for me… Maybe he could have been saved, but we'll never know…"

She looked away. "Sorry for bringing it up…"

"It's all right."

She watched him for a few moments before deciding to change the subject again. "Remember back in Dreamland, you were talking about some stories about Star Warriors?"

He paused for a moment. "Vaguely. Why?"

"Well… I've been curious ever since. I've never even asked about what you or Kirby really are… Or why only he can defeat Nightmare." She leaned over the console, head resting on her arms.

"I see…" Meta Knight thought it over for a moment, gathering scattered memories of the legends. "No doubt Kabu told you about Kirby's origins?"

"Yeah… He was really created by Nightmare?"

He nodded solemnly. "He was created to be a fearsome enemy, but for some reason… he wasn't like the others. He had a pure soul..."

"Kabu said you're the one who told him about it."

"Yes, I was the one who found Kirby then…"

Fumu sat up a little, eyes wide. "You found him?"

"I don't know what happened after he disobeyed Nightmare," he continued, old memories flooding back. "But I found him near one of their bases, barely alive. It was a stroke of luck that I did… Fate perhaps. I had heard about the plans to create a demon that could gain any power…"

"What did you do?"

"He was only an infant. Nightmare normally causes his creations to age rapidly, but not in this case. He had been based on my own race, so I knew it could take centuries for him to mature. I put him in one of our ships and sent him to a part of the universe where Nightmare's darkness hadn't spread in hopes he would be safe until he was old enough to fight."

Fumu waited to ask more questions. "I thought you said you went to serve Dedede because you wanted the ships to home in on demons…"

Meta Knight laughed. "Yes, but I didn't expect it to be him. At least it all turned out fairly well… Kirby is progressing much faster than I would have expected…"

"And if he hadn't woken up, wouldn't that mean Nightmare wouldn't have anyone to stop him?" Fumu pointed out.

"True…" Meta Knight tapped his fingers on the console thoughtfully. "The new generation never came."

"Huh?"

"I searched for years to find the new generation of Star Warriors. And I haven't found any aside from Kirby. It's curious, don't you think?"

Fumu shrugged. "Well, I guess so… Maybe it's too soon? Maybe they're all still babies, but most babies aren't like Kirby."

He smiled. "Yes… That's true… Well then, we should see about getting you a decent weapon. Come with me; their supply room should be over here…"

* * *

Kirby couldn't help dozing off a bit as Joe spoke to Silica. He just got tired a lot; it didn't mean he was bored. He yawned, rubbing his eyes and leaning against him a little. He liked being near Joe, he felt very happy then. Kind of like eating and sleeping in his favorite tree made him happy. It was just a very deep down, content feeling. But then again, Joe was upset so he really couldn't be that happy…

Silica listened more closely, though she had no idea what to say. Even though Joe was being sparse with details, what he had said was completely not what she'd expected.

Joe glanced up to see her expression and immediately regretted telling her anything. "If you're just going to look at me like I'm a freak, then get away from me."

"No, no it's not…" she waved her hands quickly in front of her. "I'm… Joe I have no idea what to think of that…"

He wasn't looking at her. "I'll get over it. We have more important things to worry about, don't we?"

Silica was at a loss. She'd wanted to try and give him some advice, but now she wasn't sure if she could say anything helpful. "Joe… why did you stay with him? Just to have a roof over your head and food?"

"It was more than that… No one had ever treated me like he did. Not my aunt, not anyone. I wasn't just an annoying kid that had been dumped off on him. He wanted me to be there."

She glanced over at Kirby, who was half asleep. "What are you so unsure about then?"

"…Because I think I was a replacement for someone else."

Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Joe was quiet for a long moment. "A little while before I left… I found some of his old photos. There was a picture of a boy there…" He frowned, his expression briefly surprised, but he shook his head and continued. "He really freaked out when he saw me looking at them. He said how much he'd loved him, and got really upset when I said I had to leave… He said he wouldn't let me."

"And what happened when you went to see him again?"

"…I really thought about not going, but I'd really wanted to see him again. So I went."

Silica sat down on another crate, nodding as she listened.

"And… I mean he was just like always. We talked and…" he coughed. "W-We talked. And he gave me some things and… he said how he'd missed me and… and that when all this was over that I could be with him again. He said to meet up with him again. He'd wait for me."

Kirby rolled over a bit, trying to get more comfortable. He didn't understand all this. But he was thinking of what he could do to cheer Joe up later. Maybe Joe liked watermelons? Well he couldn't imagine how anyone couldn't. Kirby had one stashed away for a special occasion. Hopefully it was still good. "Poyo…"

Silica watched Joe's expressions carefully. He really did trust this Gardell person, she realized. Maybe she really didn't understand, she thought. She'd never met him. But something about it still bothered her… She knew she wasn't going to be able to change Joe's mind on it. He was too hardheaded, even like this.

She chewed her lower lip for a moment, debating in her mind. "Joe… Maybe… maybe next time you meet him you should ask about it."

"Huh?"

"Just ask him! Come right out and demand to know if he's really… using you to replace some other person he knew. Maybe he won't come out and say it, but I bet it'll be easy to tell."

Joe's ears perked up a bit. "…I never really thought to ask."

"Well, there's your problem. You're not acting normal at all. You always attack things head on, why is this any different? Ask and if he's just trying to replace someone else he lost, then forget him. But don't worry about it for now, all right? It's not doing you any good." She contemplated patting him on the shoulder, but Joe didn't seem like he'd appreciate the gesture. "Anyway… I need to go see how things are up on the bridge…"

He nodded. "Yeah… thanks."

"Don't mention it." She grinned, despite how unsettling the conversation had been. "See you both later."

After she was gone, Joe sighed and looked over at a still drowsy Kirby. "She makes it sound way too easy… But, I guess there's not much else I can do."

"Poy…"

Joe looked out the window for another moment before jumping to his feet. Robbed of someone to lean against, Kirby rolled to the side, blinking in sudden confusion as Joe ran down the hallway.

"Poyo?" Just when he was getting comfortable. Oh well, he thought. He'd have to go find something to eat now.

_To be continued_

_

* * *

_

_Note: I must add, on the topic of Gardell… This story takes place in the same timeline as another story of mine 'Flight'. It's not necessary to read that one unless you'd like some clarity as to what Joe is talking about._

_You may have read an older story of mine called 'Paper Haven'- but that story NEVER HAPPENED. All right? It's deleted and gone- the only other story with Gardell now is the one I mentioned._


	5. Ruin

_Chapter 5 – Ruin_

_

* * *

_

Business in Dreamland continued as normal, blissfully unaware of what the future might bring.

The people of the village had never paid much mind to Nightmare's threat in the past, and had no reason to now. Perhaps it was the comfort in knowing they had those like Kirby to protect them. Or more likely, it was just that the people didn't want to bother worrying about it. Ignorance is bliss.

It had taken time to completely rebuild after Nightmare's attack on the village a year before. Apparently it was long enough for the memories to fade into obscurity.

Sir Arthur mused all these possibilities from his vantage point on the castle balcony. He could see why Meta Knight had voiced his dislike with this place in an earlier conversation they'd had. The people were too simple, and the king who ruled them even more so.

It was peaceful. Too peaceful, in fact. Though he and the other knights had decided to stay to keep an eye on things, nothing remotely suspicious had occurred. Not a single attack or demon seen.

It was for the best, but it was still worrisome. This would mean that Nightmare's forces knew perfectly well that Kirby and Meta Knight were going to them, and so they had no reason to attack Dreamland- for now.

When the attack came, the gold armored knight knew that he and his comrades would be able to do little against them. He'd contemplated trying to get the men of the village to take up arms themselves, but that idea had been dampened once he'd seen and spoken with a few of them. They were more likely to stab themselves by accident.

It was disheartening, but he had hope in Kirby and Meta Knight. It was all he could do now. The Star Warriors had no army, no battleships- only that child and an old veteran.

Arthur turned as he heard footsteps on the stone floor behind him, relaxing as he saw the Cabinet Minister's wife.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" Memu asked. "You've been up here all day; I was seeing if everything was all right."

"Everything is fine," he gave a slight nod. "Thank you for your concern, but I believe you should be resting." She looked exhausted, and hadn't even bothered with her make-up or putting up her hair, keeping it in a loose ponytail instead.

She laughed. "Oh, my husband keeps telling me that. I mainly came up here to get away from him… He panics if I try to do anything." She leaned sideways against the balcony, looking out over the edge with her hand on her stomach. "He was like this the other two times, but he never learns."

"His concern isn't unwarranted," Arthur said. "If you're worrying about your children, let me assure you they're in safe hands with Sir Meta Knight."

"Oh, I've been trying not to worry so much… It's not healthy you know." She smiled wearily. "It's only times like this I realize I don't spend enough time with them… I don't think I brushed Fumu's hair since she was five years old. I don't think Bun ever let me brush his…"

Arthur gave an understanding nod; though he couldn't relate to her at all, he didn't want to come off as rude. "…You'll see them again soon enough." Trying to sound hopeful, and yet the words had an unpleasant other meaning if one thought about it.

"I know," she said, turning. "I think I will try to get some rest… It was nice talking to you, Arthur."

"And you as well, m'lady." Then Arthur was alone on the balcony as she left.

The sun was setting. It had been six days since they'd gone, and they didn't even know for certain they were still alive.

All they could do was hope.

* * *

Sword and Blade had insisted they be allowed to take over running the ship again, and refused to leave even when ordered. Meta Knight decided not to push the issue. After all, they were the best at it. He found it boring unless he was actually doing something, though. 

He'd found a decent sized gun for Fumu. There was no place on the ship to teach her any target practice, but she knew how to fire at least. It would help in a pinch.

Kirby had found the kitchen and Meta Knight had asked Fumu to stop in and make sure he wasn't going to eat all of their supplies. Kirby couldn't control his appetite at times, though it was mostly normal for his age.

He paused in the hallway, having forgotten what he had planned to do. "Wonderful…" he muttered. "My mind's going now, is it?"

Looking up, he saw Knuckle Joe at the other end of the hallway, walking towards him. Joe's stride was rather hesitant once he saw him.

"Hey…"

"Hello… Do you need something?" He wondered at the back of his mind about how odd it was Joe was coming to him to talk as much as he had been. "You seem restless."

"That's not the half of it." He sighed. "Can I ask you a really weird question?"

"I suppose…" He shrugged, adjusting his cape over his arms.

Joe nodded. "Well, I have this friend…"

"If it's about you, you can be honest with me."

He scowled. "Damn it, you're not supposed to do that."

"Right, my apologies. What about this friend?"

"Well, you're kind of antisocial, but do ya know anything about… er, relationship stuff?"

Meta Knight was silent, baffled. Joe was asking _him_ of all people about this? At a time like this? Though he supposed Joe was at that age, and anyone would have other things on their mind… Thankfully his confusion over it didn't show in his expression. "Well… I've been around a while; I've picked up some things… And I'm not 'antisocial.'"

"Right, well… As long as you're happy with someone, then other things shouldn't matter, right?"

Meta Knight didn't like where this conversation was heading. "It depends what those other 'things' are…" Was he talking about Silica? Fumu, perhaps? Then again…

"Like my friend… er the other person's an older guy, and..."

Well, scratch that then. Of all responses though, Joe didn't expect Meta Knight to laugh. Not mockingly, but he was genuinely amused to hear that. His eyes briefly glowed an almost pink color behind his mask.

"Huh? What's so funny?"

Meta Knight shook his head. "Oh, it's just… an odd coincidence…"

"A coincidence?" Joe frowned.

"Ah, it's not important. Go on."

"No, now you have to tell me," he insisted, folding his arms. "And while we're at it, finish telling me about my mom like you started last time."

The Star Warrior winced visibly. "You… didn't ask Jarle?"

"She doesn't tell me a damn thing and you know it."

"I expected as much…" Meta Knight sighed. He might as well tell him. "Your father… Jecra was a rather popular man… With women especially. Back then the Star Warriors were quite popular in general. Celebrities, in a way."

"My mom must have been a lucky one then, eh?"

"…One of many."

"Huh?"

Meta Knight considered making something up, but he had a feeling Joe would see right through it. "Jecra… didn't actually know your mother personally. She was just a girl he met one night and you… resulted from it." Bad choice of words he thought, but too late now. "She dropped you off with him later and ran off. We never found out who she was." He said it quickly, avoiding looking at the boy. It was quite a thing to say, and he said it so casually…

Joe's voice was flat. "…My mother was a hooker."

He waved his hands quickly. "Oh no, no! Jecra never paid for sex. He didn't need to… It was simply a case of… a nice girl who got in over her head, so to speak…" He coughed. "I'm sure she loved you, but she… thought you'd be better off with your father."

There was still no reaction from the boy. Meta Knight regretted saying anything.

"…Well… not the end of the world then," he finally said, though his tone was a bit more bothered. "If she didn't want me, then forget her, right?"

"Exactly."

Silence.

"…So, about your other problem," Meta Knight said quickly, changing the subject.

"Yeah. You said it was a coincidence because of my dad."

Meta Knight paused for a moment, hoping for some convenient interruption.

"It can't be worse than what you told me about my mom."

"True…" he said. "Joe… I can say that your father might not have seen a problem with it, as he had… well, some unusual tastes with a few of the people he had relationships with too. Your culture doesn't have much of a taboo about couples being the same gender. Really, the only ones I've found that do are the more primitive societies. They get caught up over such trivial things."

"What about age?"

Meta Knight wasn't sure just how old Joe was, maybe fifteen or so, and could see him disliking other children his own age. He was impulsive, but still quite mature for his age. It made sense he would look for someone older- though the old Star Warrior didn't have any idea how much older in this case. "If you're responsible about it, I believe you at least could make decisions concerning such a relationship."

Joe was actually smiling for once. Apparently, Meta Knight was saying the right things. "Great. Okay then, thanks a lot."

"I'm always glad to help…" Meta Knight paused again. "Jarle did at least give you that… 'talk' right? Because I'm not touching that."

"Don't worry, she covered that at least. Said she'd kill me if I ever did it."

"Wonderful."

Joe started to leave but stopped suddenly. "Wait, one more thing."

"Hm?"

The boy scratched his head for a moment, confused. "You said my dad was popular and all, but did he ever have any long term relationship? Or was it all one night deals?"

Meta Knight smiled a little. "Star Warriors normally didn't... We traveled a lot and faced a lot of danger, and most normal people didn't want to make the commitment."

Joe looked disappointed at that. "So he didn't really have anyone?"

He shook his head. "There are always exceptions. He said he was happy with who he found…"

The boy smiled again. "You're really lucky to have known him."

"He was a good person..."

Meta Knight was glad to see Joe's mood had improved- and so had his own. With all the stressful things, once again divergences were welcome.

"Well I'm gonna go get some training in. Don't wanna get rusty… See ya." He ran off down the hallway.

Meta Knight smiled to himself, turning and going back in the direction he was going before. He still couldn't remember what he'd come back there to do. It probably wasn't important.

He idly wondered about whoever the person Joe was talking about could be. Joe didn't seem like that type… but then he might take after his father more than he thought.

He paused mid step. He couldn't be talking about…? No, no that couldn't be it. He might ask, just in case though.

Meta Knight walked on, bemused but feeling the tiniest bit better.

* * *

Kirby rubbed his stomach contentedly. He hadn't eaten so much in a while. He knew he shouldn't have, but he really needed to fill his tummy for once. He never really felt full though- hungry was just a normal state for him. But sometimes he could eat enough to feel mostly satisfied. 

His eyes drifted closed. He was always sleepy after he ate, but then he remembered he'd wanted to go see Joe or Meta Knight again and his eyes popped open… to see some place very different than the ship's tiny kitchen.

He'd never seen the place before. It was small and dimly lit, with machine walls a blue tint in the gloom. He heard distant noises and there was an unpleasant metallic tang in the air. He felt horribly scared and angry- but he couldn't move an inch.

There was a loud clang, a door opening maybe? He could barely see. A shadowy figure appeared, walking towards him. He still couldn't move. The figure laughed as it came closer. Kirby tried to cry out but no sound came.

And suddenly he was surrounded by all manner of horrible demons, claws and teeth slashing at him. He wanted to wake up, but nothing happened. Was this real?

He couldn't fight back, but now he could scream.

"Kirby!" The voice came from nowhere. "Kirby, wake up!"

The claws turned into soft hands, shaking him gently.

"Wake up!" Fumu said loudly as Kirby's eyes blinked open. "You were crying out in your sleep, are you okay?"

He clung to her suddenly, shaking like any child would after a nightmare. He almost never had dreams like this. And of course she comforted him like any child, patting his head softly.

"Was it that bad?" she asked. Kirby nodded mutely. "It's just a dream; you don't have to be afraid."

"It hurt…"

"Dreams don't hurt, they're not real."

"Poyo…" He didn't feel good anymore. His tummy hurt. Maybe he'd eaten something that hadn't agreed with him.

"Do you want to go read or something to make you feel better?" she asked.

They both fell back suddenly as the ship lurched, rocking to one side. It was calm for a moment before it happened again. Silica suddenly ran by the door, skidding to a halt when she saw them out of the corner of her eye.

"Something's wrong with the ship!" she exclaimed. "Come on, I'm going to the bridge."

They quickly followed.

* * *

Sword, Blade, Meta Knight and Joe were already there. The two young knights were checking the radar and other systems frantically. 

"No other ships detected, it's not an attack," Sword said quickly.

"I can't pinpoint what the problem is. The ship's suddenly become unstable…" Blade said as he tried to keep it from veering off course again.

Meta Knight watched out the front screen for a moment before turning to leave, walking past Kirby and Fumu. "I'm going to go ask the ship's original captain. He might know what's going on."

* * *

The captain laughed as Meta Knight approached his cell. 

"Havin' some trouble with my ship there, are ya?" He grinned. "She's an old one, you know, needs special loving care to run right."

"What's wrong with it?"

He leaned back on the bench against the wall. "I'm just a prisoner, what do I know?"

Meta Knight stepped forward quickly and unsheathed Galaxia in the blink of an eye. A few slashes to his right reduced a steel barrel into pieces. "You don't want to be uncooperative right now."

Some of the bravado left the man's face. "Eh, fine… We were going to get the parts we need before y'all hijacked us. We need some special ones, hard to find. Black market stuff, ya see… Only one place around here to get them."

"Tell me."

"What do I get out of it?"

"I can make sure you're rewarded once this is all over."

The captain raised an eyebrow. "Well ya haven't killed me yet… I'll tell ya what ya need to know. The planet's not far from here…"

* * *

"Another damn pit stop?" Joe exclaimed, throwing his fists down. "We can't keep doing this!" 

"We don't have a choice. This ship is barely going to make it to that planet, let alone Nightmare's base…" Blade said. "We'll get it done quickly, don't worry."

Joe mumbled something under his breath before leaving the room. Silica approached Meta Knight in the meantime.

"Is there any other way around this?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"So you know, I have a bad feeling about this whole thing."

"You're far from being alone in that, Silica…" he said tersely. "We'll have to make it quick. Sword and Blade will be able to get the repairs done in short time."

"Of course!" Blade chimed in. "I hope getting the parts won't be a problem."

"We're having awfully bad luck with ships, aren't we," Sword mused, hand to his chin. "But, if that's the worst that happens…"

"Let's hope it is."

* * *

This place was a stark contrast even to the city Joe's aunt lived in, for this place had all ready faced the wrath of Nightmare's armies. Even more than a year after, cities were still in ruins and smoke still tinged the sky a dull gray. People still clung to life, trying to rebuild, but there was nothing left. This place had been a desert before civilization reformed it and now the sands were taking over again, covering much of what was left. 

Fumu looked out the window apprehensively before turning back to Meta Knight.

"You can stay in the ship if you want."

She shook her head. "No, I'll feel safer if I go with you guys." This time Joe had decided to stay and guard it, with Sword and Blade going along to make sure they got the right parts. It shouldn't take long- providing the old captain had been truthful.

"Very well."

Sword and Blade had been the first ones out, checking the ship's exterior. Meta Knight saw the two of them looking out across the wounded landscape and went over to them, standing a ways behind them.

"Looks just like home," Sword said sullenly. "I can't imagine still living in a place like this. I don't think we would have survived it."

Blade was quiet, though he nodded his agreement. He smiled a bit. "If we hadn't tried robbing Sir Meta Knight, I guess we would still be there." He turned to see him behind them. "Oh, sorry Sir, we were going to…"

"Don't worry about it. Are both of you ready? We're going to make this quick."

"Yes Sir."

Fumu, Silica and Kirby came out next, the door shutting behind them. Joe was sitting up on top of the craft, staring off into the distance. Fumu held her gun gingerly in front of her, hands shaking. Silica noticed, placing her hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"Don't show any fear in a place like this. There's going to be some dangerous types around…" She held up her own weapon, set to its knife setting. "Carry it like you're willing to use it."

Fumu nodded. She felt out of place. Was she really this sheltered, she wondered? She swallowed hard, steeling herself and holding the weapon at her side.

Kirby walked next to Meta Knight, most of the bounce in his steps gone. He was still bothered by the nightmare earlier, and this place wasn't helping his mood.

"Where we going?" he asked.

"The largest building still standing," Meta Knight said, pointing at a blackened structure a short distance away. "We'll get what we need and then we'll leave once the repairs are done… If the rest of you could stay behind, it would help…"

"You know it never works when you ask that," Silica said. "We're going; deal with it."

"Poyo." Kirby nodded.

Looking around they didn't see anyone at first, but then faces started peering out at them. They were a little too conspicuous, Meta Knight thought. Sword and Blade were back in their full armor, and even without weapons they could make themselves appear intimidating. Even though he didn't want any trouble here, all of them stood out far too much.

Fumu found herself walking as close as she could to Silica. There were people watching them and it made her skin crawl. "What happened here…?"

"Nightmare. His guys go in, take what's valuable and destroy everything else," Silica explained briefly. "Other planets try providing aid, but there isn't enough to go around. Usually they just don't want to get involved."

"But… we defeated Nightmare."

"That doesn't mean a thing. Most of the places that fell to him aren't ever going to recover. And if he comes back again, it's going to keep getting worse."

Fumu shivered at the thought of this happening to Dreamland. It almost had.

Her attention was caught by movement to her left- she looked to see one of the survivors sitting against the rubble. It was a girl, her eyes wide as she watched them go past. She couldn't have been much older than Fumu herself. She was holding something in her arms- an infant. It wasn't moving.

"Come on!" Silica said, grabbing her arm. She'd stopped walking. "Don't fall behind."

They arrived without further incident, finding the building still in decent shape. Or at least it didn't look like it was going to fall any time soon.

Meta Knight approached a man leaning against the doorway and spoke to him in a tongue Fumu recognized Sword using from earlier. The man nodded and went inside. Meta Knight beckoned the rest to follow him.

A tall man approached them, wearing a mismatched set of armor. He was one of the native peoples of this planet, with sand colored skin and bushy dark hair. He also spoke the language Meta Knight had, looking down at him.

"What's he saying?" Fumu asked. Sword glanced back at her.

"He's asking what business we have here. The people here don't trust strangers."

Meta Knight and the man conversed for a few moments, Meta Knight's tone insistent. Finally the man nodded.

"He's saying we're here on behalf of that captain and we need the parts," Sword continued.

The stranger left for a moment, returning with a box. He paused for a moment, looking over the group. Again he spoke to Meta Knight, who narrowed his eyes.

Sword sighed. "He says we'll need to give him something valuable in exchange."

"I'm somehow not surprised," Silica remarked cynically.

The two spoke for another few moments, the man looking over their group. His eyes noticeably lingered on Fumu and Silica in the back. His next remark was met with an angry retort from Meta Knight. The man scowled.

Meta Knight turned to them. "I hate people like this. He's just making it difficult on us because he can." As he turned, the man's gaze fell on Galaxia's hilt. He pointed to it. Meta Knight immediately replied with what Fumu assumed now was their way of saying 'No way.'

The man looked angrier now, speaking in harsh tones and gesturing at them.

"Do we have anything else?" Blade asked. "We can't very well give him what he's asking for."

Silica held up her weapon with some hesitation. The man looked at it for a moment before shaking his head… and then grinning at her. Silica glared, making some gesture by raising her middle finger that Fumu didn't recognize.

Meta Knight debated with him for several minutes, Sword translating if it was anything important.

Sword scoffed. "He's offering us a deal- he'll even take only one of the girls."

"Hmph, give me five minutes alone with him," Silica said, her tone dark.

Another few moments of arguing, and then the man stomped his foot, shouting. Sword stifled a gasp.

"What is it?" Fumu asked.

"He doesn't believe us. He says we must be thieves or pirates." Sword's hand went to the hilt of his weapon as several more armored figures came in from other exits. They were surrounded.

The man crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke to Meta Knight. The old Star Warrior was silent.

"He says we have to give him what he's asking for or they won't let us leave here alive."

Sword and Blade started to retrieve their swords, but Meta Knight raised his hand and they paused.

"We'll just have to give him what he wants…" he said quietly.

Meta Knight hesitated before, to everyone's shock, he pulled Galaxia from its scabbard. The men's eyes went wide as it materialized, and Meta Knight set it on the ground in front of himself, saying something.

"…He's saying it's a deal."

The man laughed, pushing the box over to him and leaning down to pick up the sword. Meta Knight said something quietly and the man laughed again.

Meta Knight didn't say anything else.

At first everyone thought that Meta Knight must be insane, but as the man's hand closed around the hilt they all remembered.

His scream echoed off the walls as the sword's energy engulfed him, electricity dancing along his limbs. The strength of it was enough to make everyone back away somewhat. The sudden stench of burning hair and skin filled the small room.

"That… That didn't happen when Silica tried picking it up," Blade said, unable to take his eyes off the spectacle.

Meta Knight shrugged. "Galaxia can only be wielded by those powerful enough. …It might also be able to tell what your intentions are. I warned him though…"

The light and energy stopped as soon as the man's screaming did. He tumbled over backwards, smoke rising from his body and Galaxia falling to the ground. The other men didn't move, staring at the group. Meta Knight calmly picked up his sword and put it away.

"Sword, Blade, carry the parts. Let's get back." He shot a glare at one of the men, who fell back quickly. Meta Knight led the others out.

"He… Was he… dead?" Fumu asked, eyes wide.

He stopped a moment. "Would you have preferred the alternative?"

"N-No!"

"Then, there's nothing to complain about. Come on."

"But, I thought Star Warriors…"

"Were supposed to protect people? I am. I'm protecting you all. I didn't tell Galaxia to kill that man- it just happened that way. Now hurry up because all that noise is going to attract a lot of people."

* * *

Indeed it did. Upon leaving the building they found that a small crowd had gathered. 

"Move aside," Meta Knight commanded, standing in front of the others. He repeated his command in the other language.

"What just happened in there? What do you want from us?" a voice called out, finally a language they knew.

"We have no further business here, we only want to leave in peace."

Suddenly the men from before ran out behind them, shouting in the other language. An angry murmur rose in the group.

"…They killed him, they're demons here to destroy us." Sword translated.

Meta Knight spoke quickly to them in their language but the angry looks continued. People started to shout and they saw several of them holding various crude weapons.

"Poyo…" Kirby shrank back between Sword and Blade. All these people were mad at them now. What if they attacked? Was he supposed to hurt normal people like this? "Meda Knight…" he tugged at his cape.

A few young men stepped forward, wielding chains and lengths of iron bar. "You're with those demons, aren't you?" one sneered.

"Or one of those rich planets that couldn't be bothered to give us their damned leftovers. Just want to take whatever's left, right? Kill off the rest of us so we aren't a nuisance?"

Clutching her gun tightly, Fumu stepped forward, her usual ire rising within her. "You be quiet! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Fumu!" Meta Knight snapped, but she didn't hear or if she did she was ignoring him.

"They're Star Warriors trying to stop Nightmare once and for all, you could show some respect!"

The crowd stared, and Fumu got an icy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Star Warriors? _Star Warriors_?" one of the men from before exclaimed. "Great! Now where the fuck were they two years ago? Everyone said they'd come to help and no one ever did."

"We were abandoned!"

"Lying scum!"

Other things were shouted in other languages, but the tone was enough to tell what they meant.

Meta Knight held up Galaxia again, the crackling energy causing the crowd to hush for a moment. "Let us leave here. We have no quarrel with you."

The people advanced, shouting angrily. Meta Knight scowled, but realized he had no choice. Leaping into the air, his sword exploded with a sudden arc of energy that cut right over the crowd and created a deep gouge in the ground behind them.

"Everyone!" he shouted to his group. "To the ship, now!"

In the dust and resulting confusion they fled, Silica grabbing Fumu's arm so she wouldn't fall behind again. They made a frantic run through the dilapidated city, Meta Knight in the lead and trying to find the shortest way back.

In the rush it was hard to tell when one of the group fell behind.

Kirby looked around distraught. One second he'd been running behind Meta Knight, the next he'd tripped and rolled and then he couldn't see anyone. Behind him he heard angry shouting though, and knew enough to get away from that.

There were broken walls and rubble around him, so the best way to go of course was up. He inhaled deeply, his body expanding and growing lighter as he flapped his arms to gain altitude. He couldn't go very high or for very long like this, but it could still be useful.

He landed on top of a low building, running to the edge to see if he could see them or the ship. "Poyo!" he exclaimed happily as he saw it in the distance. He jumped quickly to the next building, deciding to take the high road.

There was a shout below him, and something whizzed past his head. He made the mistake of stopping to look, and the next rock hit his side. He flinched and starting to turn to run, but he was hit again and lost his balance, tumbling off the wall and landing hard.

He could hear the crowd all around him. He was terrified, and instinct took over. He turned around and started to inhale.

The people cried out as the sudden vortex pulled at them, scrambling to get away from the downed Star Warrior. Several of their weapons went flying in the commotion, and a curved blade was the first thing that went into his mouth.

In a flash of light his ability reacted to the item, a winged yellow hat with a silver blade materializing on his head. He grabbed the cutter, holding it in front of him to defend himself.

"It's one of the demons!"

Kirby was breathing hard and found it hard to speak. "Le'me'lone poyo. No wanna hurt…"

He couldn't fathom why they were so angry, nor could he know what to say to placate them. But, he didn't want to fight them. They were just people, not demons.

One man stepped forward. "It killed my friend! Don't let it get away!"

Kirby turned and ran as fast as he could.

* * *

They were almost to the ship when Meta Knight realized Kirby wasn't behind him. He stopped, skidding to a halt. "Where's Kirby?" 

Everyone else stopped, looking around anxiously. Kirby was nowhere to be seen.

Meta Knight cursed under his breath. "Sword, Blade, start the repairs. I'm going to go find him."

"But, Sir-"

"Do as I say!" he snapped, and ran back into the city.

Sword and Blade watched helplessly for a moment, but they couldn't go against his orders. "Let's go!" They hurried to the ship.

"Meta Knight will be fine," Silica told Fumu. "He'll find him, don't worry."

She nodded, tears in her eyes. "This is my fault…"

"It's not, so don't angst about it. Let's get to the ship where it's safe."

* * *

Meta Knight tried to retrace their steps, but he saw no sign of him. "Kirby!" he shouted, his voice echoing off the remaining buildings. "Kirby!" 

He leapt easily onto a half crushed building, and then onto a taller one for a better view. He scanned the streets, hoping Kirby's color would stand out enough to be seen.

Swearing under his breath he leapt back down. Kirby was probably hiding now, not that he could blame him. Kirby had never been in a situation like this.

"Kirby!" he shouted again. At this point it didn't matter if he called more attention to himself. He had to find him.

By this time he wasn't even sure where he was, he'd made so many turns. There was no sign of Kirby or the mob from before. Finally he heard shouting, and then a pained cry. Pinpointing the direction he ran, jumping over low obstacles in his way.

* * *

Really, running from angry mobs wasn't a new thing to Kirby. It had happened before when they thought he was eating their watermelon crop or when they were hypnotized or something. But this time the people really wanted to hurt him. He hadn't done anything wrong, though! Why was this happening? 

He'd lost his ability early on, not that he had been willing to defend himself to begin with. And the people decided to take out their aggression on him, helpless as he was. Mob mentality has a habit of taking over and destroying reason, and suddenly doing horrible things is normal.

Now everything hurt. Kirby had taken worse hits before, but this wouldn't end, he couldn't get away from them. He was supposed to be a strong warrior, and all he could do now was curl up and hope they'd go away.

"Kirby!"

The sound came from above, and the next thing he knew Meta Knight landed in front of him, cape waving behind him. Kirby's attackers fell back.

"Cowards!" Meta Knight shouted. "You'd attack a child!"

He found that right then he wanted nothing more than to end all of their miserable lives. But, he couldn't very well do that, could he. Instead he turned, grabbed Kirby and leapt back up on top of the building.

"You should have fought back…" Meta Knight said quietly, holding Kirby wrapped in his cape on his back. He was running back to the ship at a fast pace, jumping across the crumbling rooftops.

"Poyo… Not demons… Can't hurt…"

"Those people were demons. Anyone who would do that is a demon, don't you understand?" He sighed wearily. "…You're too kind for your own good…"

Kirby didn't say anything, clinging to the fabric.

"I'm sorry… I should have gone myself. I can't keep dragging the rest of you into this."

"Not Meda fault…"

They found everyone waiting for them right outside the ship. Sword and Blade rushed inside upon seeing them to start the ship's engines.

"Let's get out of here!" Silica called, following them. Fumu ran over to the two.

"Are you all right?"

Meta Knight set Kirby down next to him. "He's fine. His injuries should be gone in a short time." Looking him over confirmed it, whatever bruises and scrapes he'd sustained were quickly fading.

"You're hurt too," Fumu pointed out, looking at a bleeding cut on his arm. He hadn't even noticed it.

"It's nothing; I was just hit with something when we escaped. Let's get on the ship."

* * *

Once out of the planet's atmosphere they resumed their course, and Silica went to finish up the last of the repairs. Sword and Blade were at the controls, while Joe had gone off by himself again. Kirby was sleeping an exhausted sleep on one of the chairs, and Meta Knight sat patiently while Fumu bandaged his arm. 

"…It's ridiculous, isn't it," he said out of the blue.

"Huh? What is?"

"All of this." A short, humorless laugh. "We're on this decrepit ship trying to go destroy a creature that might not even be able to be destroyed. We're only alive because they haven't decided to go out of their way and kill us yet. Nightmare knows perfectly well we're coming. It's only going to be a matter of time."

She jumped back. "H-How can you say things like that!"

"I'm actually being optimistic. Fumu… Taking this ship was a gamble, but they're going to know it's us by now. I don't know what they're going to try next…"

"But we still have to try, right?" she asked. "What else can we do?"

He was silent for a moment, eyes flashing green. "Yes… what else can we do…" He stood up, checking the bandage. "Thank you. Why don't you go get some rest for now?"

"What about you?"

"I'm fine." He turned away, looking out the front of the bridge at the stars dashing by.

Fumu sighed and left. The bridge was quiet for another few minutes until a warning sounded from Blade's console.

"Sir… Three ships have appeared behind us. They're following us."

"Any communication from them?"

Blade waited for a moment, hands moving over the controls. "Surrender or they'll open fire."

This is it, Meta Knight thought. His mind raced, but he'd decided earlier what they could do in this situation. "We have a chance…" He turned to face them. "This ship is capable of warping, correct?"

"Yes, but not for very long distances, she'd break apart."

"It's good enough." He walked over next to Sword, opening the map screen. He zoomed out, and then pointed to what appeared to be a blank spot on it. "There. We can lose them there."

"Sir, that's empty space and some asteroid fields…"

"Trust me on this. We'll be safe there."

"Yes, Sir." The two nodded and started the ship in that direction. A few moments later the ship appeared to stretch from the outside and snap forward like a rubber band, disappearing in a point of light.

* * *

"It was a nice effort I suppose… But ultimately it won't save them." The dark figure leaned back in his chair, watching the proceedings on the screens in front of him. 

A soldier behind him spoke. "Our forces are pursuing them as we speak."

"Don't capture them right away… You know what the plan is."

"Yes, my Lord."

He brought his hands up in front of him, fingertips together. "I love when things fall into place exactly as you want them to… Get a ship ready. I'll be going as well to… greet them."

"Right away, my Lord!"

_- To be continued_

_

* * *

_

_Much thanks to GameTrekker and Onezumi for beta-reading. _


	6. Secret

_Chapter 6 – Secret

* * *

_

Kirby woke up just as the ship left warp drive, blinking sleepily. He felt much better after a nap. He hopped down off the chair and toddled over to Meta Knight.

"We're going someplace safe," Meta Knight told him, turning to look at him. Kirby smiled. It faded as he saw the bandage on the old knight's arm, already soaked through with blood.

"Poyo…"

"Mm? Oh, don't worry about that. It's only a bad cut; I'll live. Are your injuries healed now?"

Kirby wiggled his arms a bit. Nope, no more pain. He felt good as new, really. "Poyo!"

"Good… You'll have to find some good armor when you get older, though. You won't heal as quickly then." He gestured to his own arm and Kirby nodded.

There was another warning from the ship's computers.

"We're still being followed," Sword said. "Where to now?"

"Straight ahead."

"But that's the asteroid field! We'll be crushed!"

"That's an order."

Sword and Blade exchanged glances. It was insane, but of course they trusted him.

Silica ran into the room then, followed by Joe. "What's going on?"

"Nightmare's ships are following us," Blade explained quickly. "We're trying to lose them."

"Damnit…"

"What the…?" Joe saw the asteroids looming in front of the ship out the main window. "We aren't going there, right?"

"That's exactly where we're going," Meta Knight said.

"You want to try losing them in there!" Silica exclaimed. "This ship can't maneuver well enough!"

"We'll be fine. Trust me." Meta Knight's voice was completely calm.

She frowned, but didn't say anything more. A hush fell over the bridge as they entered the field. Sword opened another screen on the main window, this one showing the view behind the ship. The enemy craft were close behind them, spiked and almost insect-like in their design. They were closing in fast.

Fumu was the last to come in, having seen the asteroids out the other windows. She didn't say anything, eyes wide as she saw what was in front of them.

"Don't move the ship. Keep a straight course," Meta Knight said.

Blade's hands were shaking on the controls. "Sir, there are several of them coming right at us. If we keep on this course…"

"This is an order!"

Everyone watched, holding their breath as one of the massive stones came hurtling for them… and suddenly veered off, rebounding off another. Each one that came close moved away, creating a path for their ship.

They were stunned. Silica shook her head in disbelief. "How…"

"Shhh. Watch." Meta Knight pointed to the view of the other ships.

Just as the asteroids moved away from them, they sought out the others. Nightmare's ships dodged for a few moments, but within seconds two asteroids crushed one. The other ships hesitated, and then began to turn to try and escape- only to meet the same fate.

Everyone looked to Meta Knight for answers- not that he was known for giving them freely.

"You just like messing with people, don't you," Joe accused, trying to sound tough as normal, though he'd been as scared as the rest of them.

He laughed softly. "If myself or Kirby weren't on this ship, the same thing would have happened to it… Look up ahead. That's where we're going."

The largest asteroid yet loomed in front of them. There was an opening in front of it, some kind of cave.

"This is one of many entrances… This place doesn't exist in any one spot in the universe, but there are multiple ways to get in. This was the closest," he explained.

"What? What place? What are you talking about?" Silica asked.

"This…" Meta Knight's eyes shimmered blue. "This is a sacred place. Only Star Warriors are permitted to enter, and anyone else trying to gain entrance is destroyed. But I can bring my comrades along as well."

The light from the stars vanished as they entered the cave, and all of the view screens showed inky darkness for several long moments.

"Switch the propulsion to atmospheric. There's gravity here."

Sword and Blade did as he said, the engines grinding as they transitioned. The ship fell somewhat but continued on a steady altitude. Finally they saw light flickering in front of them and a huge cave was revealed.

Everyone but Meta Knight gasped as they saw two very familiar stone statues standing guard aside a huge gate, fires burning in pits before them.

"Those are… Kabu!" Fumu exclaimed.

Meta Knight nodded. "The Kabu were created to protect the Star Warriors… Sword, Blade, land the ship in the clearing there." He gestured to a flat plain of rock. "We can leave the ship here safely."

The ship landed heavily a few moments later. Meta Knight was the first to exit the ship, followed closely by Kirby.

Kirby stared up at the Kabu. They were massive, far bigger than the one at Dreamland. He wondered if they talked too. "Hiii!" he called, waving to the closest one. It didn't answer. "Poyo…"

"Sir Meta Knight… what is this? Some kind of hidden base?" Fumu asked.

He shook his head. "No… it's much more than that." He stood in front of the massive gates. They were inscribed with many strange characters; the only familiar one was the five-pointed star at the very top.

"This is the tomb of the Star Warriors."

The Kabu's eyes lit up then and the door swung open, ancient hinges groaning.

After a short passage, it opened up into another massive cavern. Everyone else stopped in their tracks.

Meta Knight had been to this place before… many times before. But even he was still struck at the ironic beauty of it.

"It's amazing…" Fumu said quietly.

The walls and the sides of the main paths were covered in shimmering crystals. It wasn't clear where the light source was coming from, but it danced around, casting rainbow lights on every other surface. The ceiling appeared to be a view of the stars, though some of them would fall and float to the ground like snowflakes, tiny white sparks that slowly faded. A complete feeling of serenity pervaded this place.

In the center of the room was a huge white fountain, clear water pouring off the top and traveling in rivulets to a deeper basin around it. Fumu gasped when she saw in top of it.

"That's the Star Rod! Kirby used that against Nightmare!"

Meta Knight looked over at her. "Yes, only certain Star Warriors are able to wield it… It's the strongest weapon our ancestors created and it protects this place. It's one of the only things that can defeat Nightmare…"

When Meta Knight looked back, he found Joe standing in front of him.

"You know you have to explain more before we go anywhere else," he said, grinning. "You said this is a tomb? You mean like bodies?"

He nodded. "This is where all Star Warriors are placed when they pass on. Even if there is no body, it's a place for the soul to rest."

Fumu came up next to him. "Why would the soul need to rest? My parents always told me that if you're a good person, you go to a paradise when you die." She was never very sure on that, but it was a nice story.

"There are… many stories about us. About the first Star Warriors, millions of years ago." He walked as he spoke, down one of the many paths. "They are said to have created the Kabu, the Star Rod, the Warpstars themselves. They are our ancestors. But it is also said that the first Star Warriors made a great sacrifice to protect everyone else in the universe."

"What kind of sacrifice?" Blade asked now. Even after he and Sword had been with him for so long, he'd never told them about this.

Meta Knight watched the waters of the fountain. The sound of it was soothing to him.

He took a moment to answer. "They swore… that their souls and memories would never die. They would be endlessly reborn, so that there would always be someone to fight evil like Nightmare. They sacrificed their paradise so that other would have a chance to live."

Everyone was quiet, so he went on. "They created this place so that at the very least the souls could rest before being reborn. And anyone born with a Star Warrior's soul carries the skills of the past life and a will to fight darkness. It's fate, a destiny that cannot be fought. So, there will always be someone to fight.

"Much of the old knowledge has been lost now. But, considering the other things the first Star Warriors made, who knows?" He looked at Fumu. "However, it could explain something you asked me once… how Kirby can know how to fight without training. It comes naturally to us."

Kirby mostly understood what Meta Knight had said. He never really thought of death. He'd seen it happen, but he never thought about it happening to him. But then again, if he could see this wonderful place again, it couldn't be so bad.

"Only Star Warriors can even find the tomb. It's the safest place I know of… Nightmare probably thinks we were destroyed in the asteroid field."

Sword took off his helmet to get a better look at the place, Blade following his example. "This is incredible… What do we do next, though?"

"We wait for a time… When we leave we can take an exit that will take us to the other side of Nightmare's base. It's still a good distance from it, but with any luck they won't be expecting us from that direction…" He sighed. "I had wanted to avoid coming here, in case we were somehow followed. But it was the only thing I could think of on such short notice."

He watched as Kirby ran over and started splashing playfully in the water of the fountain. So completely carefree.

"Is my father here?" Joe asked suddenly.

Meta Knight nodded. "He is..." Or his body, at least. Of course the soul would be long gone.

Silica looked over quickly. "And my mother too?"

"Yes…" Meta Knight looked around before pointing down one of the paths. "The Kabu will guide you there." Several smaller statues lined the path at certain points, and eyes of one close to Silica lit up. She walked over to it, and another lit up. They created a path to follow down one of the many other exits in the place that led to the actual tombs.

"And my dad…?" Joe didn't see any lighting up near him.

"I know where that one is. They assume I don't need a guide," he said wryly. "Follow me."

"Um…" Blade hesitated. "I don't think we have anyone to see here…"

"You can come as well. He wouldn't be upset with more visitors."

They walked down the path, voices hushed. It didn't feel right to speak loudly in a place such as this. Aside from that, despite it being a tomb, it didn't feel like one. It was peaceful, not spooky as one might expect.

Kirby walked between Joe and Meta Knight, occasionally glancing back at his friend. "Joe okay?"

"Eh? Yeah, just nervous."

Kirby could mostly understand that. He had a bounce in his step again, oddly cheerful for being in a tomb. But then, that was Kirby.

"It should be close," Meta Knight said as they walked past numerous rooms and other pathways, everything bathed in the same soft light. There wasn't even any dust- everything appeared completely untouched.

He stopped. "Here." As Jecra was one of the more recent to die, his tomb wasn't far from the main path. Though he wasn't sure how this place could still hope to hold more… He didn't really question it. Their ancestors had been capable of things he couldn't fathom.

Joe went in first. There was a stone structure almost like a sarcophagus in the room, the walls lined with more writing and crystals. On top of the stone were two things- Jecra's broken sword and shield. Joe walked up hesitantly, eyes wide.

Sword and Blade moved off to the side, letting Meta Knight and Fumu pass.

Kirby didn't enter. He couldn't.

The moment he came to the room's threshold he found himself frozen. Not fear. He couldn't place the feeling, but there was something wrong. A low whimper came from his throat but they didn't hear him. Something wasn't right.

Moments later, Meta Knight noticed something as well. His voice was low. "Someone else has been here."

Joe turned, face awash with confusion. "Who else could have…?"

"It's been disturbed. I… can feel it. Something's amiss." Meta Knight normally felt calm coming here, but this time… He finally looked and saw Kirby standing at the entrance, eyes wide in distress. "Kirby? What is it?"

There was suddenly a muffled bang and a cloud of black smoke appeared over the tomb. Joe leapt back, landing next to Meta Knight in a defensive posture. "What's going on!"

Cruel laughter filled the room then, echoing off the carved walls. Meta Knight could barely make out a figure land on the tomb in the smoke. He pulled out Galaxia and Sword and Blade readied their weapons as well.

"Show yourself!" he shouted. The smoke cleared then and he gasped, stepping back as he saw who stood above them.

"…Yamikage!"

The black shrouded ninja laughed. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for never coming to visit again, but what a nice coincidence that we're both here at the same time." His red eyes glinted. "I was just paying tribute to our dear friend Jecra…"

To their horror they saw then he was holding something… Something white with wisps of blonde hair still clinging to it.

Fumu brought her hand to her mouth, eyes wide. "No…"

Joe stared, fists in front of him, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

"You… How _dare_ you defile this place with your presence, traitor!" Meta Knight's voice dripped with rage. None of them had ever heard him speak like that before. "You have no place here; you betrayed us!"

Yamikage chuckled. "But, I'm still a Star Warrior. Just one who decided to join the winning side." He tossed the skull idly as he spoke. "And I knew you would choose to come here to find sanctuary. You're old and predictable, Meta Knight…"

Meta Knight's hands were shaking, anger rising within him. Galaxia glowed brightly.

"I thought it would be appropriate for you to die here. Then I realized we couldn't have you die just yet…" He laughed again. "Surrender to us, Meta Knight. Perhaps then I'll have you all killed quickly. I can be merciful…"

No one moved- except Kirby. He walked forward, eyes fixated on Yamikage and what he held. He felt so strange, but he didn't know why.

Yamikage looked down at him. "Ah yes, the infant warrior… Don't expect to beat me so easily this time." He chuckled. "Catch." Kirby couldn't react fast enough as the skull was thrown, clattering to the ground in front of him.

Kirby stared at it for a second, confused- and then shrank back as his vision seemed to flash in front of him. Everything started spinning and he saw visions from his dreams. Things he'd never seen before. His head hurt and he fell forward, trying to cover his eyes but it didn't stop. He saw demons and horrible things, people dying and fires and… he saw Meta Knight, but it was somewhere else, some place he'd never been. Sitting together around a roaring fire. He saw Yamikage again, but he and Meta Knight were speaking like they were friends.

The dream. The dark figure. He laughed, taunting him. Pain, so much pain. It wouldn't end. Clawed hands descended.

Meta Knight. A setting sun; the land looked awash with blood. He looked down to see real blood, on him, the ground, and on Galaxia.

He remembered memories that were not his own.

He remembered dying.

And Kirby _screamed_.

* * *

To be continued 

_- Voice for Yamikage - www.ivynajspyder .com/yamikage.mp3 (Remove the space before .com )_


	7. Reminiscence

_Chapter 7 - Reminiscence

* * *

_

Bun was not happy. Not at all.

He still couldn't believe it. Fumu had abandoned him. Left him here with Joe's devil of an aunt. (She'd made him clean dishes!)

Worst of all, though he would be loath to admit it- he was homesick. This was the longest he'd ever been away from his family and it was starting to get to him. He didn't like being in this unfamiliar house, in an unfamiliar city… and on an unfamiliar planet.

He sat on the worn couch, leaning back and staring at cracks in the ceiling. He was bored, adding to everything else. Jarle had gone out to buy some things and had told him not to touch anything. Not that he would listen.

The TV was a little different than the one his family had, and the selection of channels didn't seem to be much better than the one he had back home. He figured out how the remote worked quickly enough and flipped through- news, more news, a black and white movie in a language he didn't know, commercials…

He hopped down off the couch and went over to inspect some of the other things around it. The TV was on a stand and there were other things below it, weird machines he'd never seen before. One had a thin slot in the front and all sorts of buttons. It looked a bit like the DD-VCRs or whatever they were called that Dedede had given out along with his TVs earlier that year. Except the only things to put in them were videos of the king, so no one really used theirs.

Bun gave up after a moment and wandered over to one of the tall cabinets by the wall. It was covered in dusty knick-knacks and other odds and ends that Jarle had piled there. He looked through it, careful not to move anything too out of place- he had a feeling she would be able to tell despite the mess it was.

He opened the bottom cabinet. There were all sorts of binders and boxes of things. In truth, he was hoping there was some sort of game playing gadget leftover from when Joe lived there… They probably didn't have CubeGames here, but he could hope.

Grumbling to himself, he backed out of the small space, and inadvertently knocked a few boxes out as well. A smaller one opened and spread its contents over the graying carpet.

Pictures. Old photographs, dozens of them. And he could see why they had been hidden.

Joe as a baby and Meta Knight were the easiest to recognize in several of them. Jarle herself showed up rarely; he assumed she was the one holding the camera. And the other… There was a tall man with wild blonde hair in almost all of them. Always smiling.

"Joe's dad…" Bun said quietly to himself, thumbing through the photographs. It was even stranger to see Meta Knight in with them. Joe's age changed throughout- in some he was only an infant, but in others he looked to be a year or two old. But beyond that there was nothing. No photos of Joe as an older child.

There was something else in the box, some kind of flat gray disk. He picked it up carefully, examining it… It looked about the same size as the slot in that other machine.

He set the photos back and carried the disk to the TV and put it in, hoping he wasn't going to break anything. This was too interesting though.

The machine below the TV whirred at it activated. The TV screen went black for a moment before a new picture appeared. It was blurry at first, the view shaking. He heard a male voice he didn't recognize.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Of course I do!" That irritated voice could only be Jarle, he thought. "Shut up and let me do this!"

"I think you're holding it upside down…" Suddenly the view stabilized and he saw Joe's father again- only upside down. "Yeah, it's supposed to go like this." The world spun and everything was upright again. "There we go!" He grinned widely and waved. "I'm on camera!"

"Very good Jecra, any other amazing insights you'd like to offer?"

"You're no fun…" Jecra rolled his eyes before looking around. Jarle moved the camera and Bun could see more of the room. It definitely wasn't the current dingy apartment; it looked like a rather nice larger one or maybe a house.

"Where'd he go?" Jecra wondered aloud. "Hey! Mety, get back in here, we got the camera working!" There was a muffled reply Bun couldn't make out. Jecra left suddenly.

Jarle mumbled something under her breath behind the camera, pointing it around randomly for a moment. Finally she settled on something- baby Joe sitting in a rocker of some sort. "And how's my nephew today, eh?" She zoomed in on his face- he appeared to be scowling. "Cheerful as usual, I see." Baby Joe waved a little rattle with a star on the end and made a burbling sound.

"Come on," Jecra said off screen. "You don't want to be in the movie too?"

"I'm more worried about your sister not wanting me in it…" The voice was unmistakably Meta Knight's- and as Bun saw when Jarle moved the view over, he looked exactly the same as he did now- save for a small star on his left shoulder.

"Damn right I don't." And suddenly the screen went black. But only for a moment- when it came on again it seemed Jecra was holding it instead.

"Jarle, you said you'd stop doing that."

The camera showed her sitting on the couch. She sighed. "Yeah yeah, sorry. The beach ball can be in your little movie too."

Meta Knight was standing off to one side, his cape around him. "What do you mean, a movie?"

"Oh, like… home movie stuff. Just recording stuff about our lives. I want a record of Joe growing up. And other assorted… things." Jecra panned the camera over to his son, who cooed and shook his rattle more vigorously- though he still looked rather angry about something. "We can get embarrassing baby videos to blackmail him with when he's older."

Meta Knight actually chuckled. "I'm sure he'll love that."

"Hey Jarle!" Jecra zoomed the camera in on her. "Any comments?"

"You're acting like a complete buffoon."

"Aw, I love you too."

Jarle… smiled, of all things, and shook her head. "Are you going to be playing with that thing all day?"

"Of course!"

"Just try to put it down when you help with dinner, all right?" She smiled again. Somehow the expression suited her; Bun just didn't expect it from her. "Hey, creampuff." She was looking at Meta Knight. "You get to do dishes."

"It's not polite to make guests do dishes."

She laughed. "Sorry, you lost the title of 'guest' long ago. You get dishes- deal with it or you don't eat. And I'll get you a stepping-stool since I know you can't reach the sink." She grinned, showing teeth and Bun thought he saw Meta Knight twitch.

"This thing is so great… I got a good deal on it too…" Jecra sounded giddy as he panned the camera around some more, randomly zooming in on things as he got used to how it worked. "Hey I wonder what this button doe-" The screen went black.

Bun waited, actually hoping that wasn't all of it… It came back on a moment later to show Meta Knight with an undoubtedly amused expression, and in another part of the house.

"How did you break it so fast…? I thought you were good with electronics."

"I don't know!" Jecra exclaimed, behind the camera again. "It must have been a problem with the manufacturing… but I fixed it."

"Wonderful. Now what? Are you going to film Joe eating or something inane like that?"

"Nah. Hey, I'll film you for a bit."

"…Why?"

"Because I want to, damnit."

Meta Knight stared at the camera.

Jecra sighed. "Well it's no fun if you're just going to stand there."

"What do you want me to do? Dance?"

"As much as I'd like to have that to show to the guys once we get back, I think it would be far too creepy."

"You don't have to film anything, you know."

"Yes I do. I have this new camera, and it must be used! It just wouldn't be right if I didn't."

Jarle's voice rang out from another room. "Hey! You two get in here and help me cook! I'm not your maid! And if you bring the camera I'll break it in half!"

"Ah damn. Guess I'll have to do more later…" The screen went black.

Bun watched and waited for the picture to return. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. How many years ago must it have been recorded? He wasn't sure how old Joe was…

For a few more minutes the scenes were more or less random experiments of the camera's abilities. Sometimes Meta Knight was there, other times not. At one point it seemed Joe himself had gotten his hands on the camera, judging from the completely bizarre views for some parts. Bun idly fast-forwarded, trying to get to a good part.

When he stopped, it showed an extreme close up of Baby Joe- now a little older and with his face covered in cake and frosting.

"Finally!" Jecra exclaimed. "It would have been awful if I couldn't record his second birthday. I wonder if I'm using the right disk…"

"Great, crisis averted. Can you set the camera on the tripod?" Jarle asked.

"Fine fine…" There was much fumbling and shaking of the view as he snapped it into place. Now the view showed a round table, with Joe in booster seat, happily stuffing his face with cake.

"He's going to be sick from all that," Jarle pointed out, pulling the rest of the cake away. "And he's not even going to remember any of this."

"That's no excuse to not have cake and presents. And speaking of presents… I'll be right back!" He hurried off screen.

Jarle sat back for a moment, sighing. "Hey beach ball."

Meta Knight had been there the entire time apparently. He walked closer to the table. "Yes?"

"Does it annoy you?"

"Does what annoy me?"

"How obsessed he is with this brat."

Meta Knight's body tilted to one side. "I wouldn't call it obsessed. He rarely sees Joe, I think he's allowed to be… He doesn't bring him up very much when we're on deployment. I can handle this much."

She smirked. "Ah. Well, I heard you guys made some sort of breakthrough against Nightmare."

"We did. We found one of their main stations for their Internet transfer system. If we can destroy that it would cripple them."

"What happens when you guys beat Nightmare?"

Meta Knight was quiet. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what happens to you?"

"I don't think anything would happen to me…" he said, sounding confused. "You mean what would I do?"

"Yeah."

"…I've never put much thought into it."

Jecra appeared on the screen suddenly, carrying a small box. "I have, no worries. I've decided he can live with us."

"The glorified beach ball _cannot_ live with us." Jarle scowled at him.

"Oh, it'll be fun. We can still go and travel and all, and when Joe's older he can come with."

"How about instead you stay home and take care of him?"

"Nah, I think I'll leave that to you; you're much better at it."

Jarle hit him on the shoulder- hard- and Joe laughed.

"Auntie!" he exclaimed, reached for the cake. "Cake! More!"

She sighed and shoved the entire the entire thing over to him. "Eat until you puke. See if I care. I'm just not cleaning it up."

Jecra sat at the table, setting the box in front of him. Meta Knight hopped onto a chair as well.

"What is that?"

"This…" Jecra said, opening the box with a little flourish, "is something I've been working on for a while. Technically Joe can't have it until he's older, so I'll hold onto it until then, but for now…" He pulled out a gold chain, and then the green and gold pendant it was attached to.

Jarle's eyes went wide as she saw the blue and gold starburst design on the front. "That belonged to our grandfather. The symbol's our family crest…"

"Yep. It's been passed down for generations." He opened it, revealing a blank spot where one would normally put a picture. "But, I added a secret to it. Joe will have to find out what it is on his own someday."

"How mysterious," Meta Knight commented, his tone light as Jecra handed the shiny trinket to the boy. Joe held it for a moment, eyes wide. Then, he dropped it and went back to eating his cake. "And what would you have done with it if you never had a child?"

"Huh? I've always planned on having one. Joe was a bit unexpected but…"

Jarle raised an eyebrow. "Planning with who, eh? I don't think the beach ball here would fit very well with that plan."

Jecra's glared at her. "You know what I mean! I just… Well, it didn't work out that way… Hey, what did you get for Joe, anyway?" Changing the topic quickly.

"How about taking care of him every damned day while you're out saving the universe?" She sighed. "I got him some new toys. He's all ready destroyed his old ones."

"Destroyed?"

"Yeah. Breaks them into pieces. The kid doesn't know his own strength."

Joe picked up the pendant and then threw it across the room, looking at his father. He laughed as Jecra went to retrieve it.

"See, this is why he can't have it until he's older," Jecra said, now holding the pendent out of his reach.

Joe reached for it. "Gimme! Gimmeeee!"

"Promise not to throw it?"

"Promise!"

He handed it to him. Joe immediately threw it at Meta Knight and laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Maybe it annoys me sometimes…" Meta Knight said under his breath.

"Huh?" Jecra looked confused.

"Nothing. I'm afraid to say I didn't get him anything. I didn't even know it was his birthday," Meta Knight said.

"Oh, that's okay. We sort of had to guess on what his real birthday was anyway…" Jecra said sheepishly. "I think it's enough that you came."

Joe's gaze turned to Meta Knight then and he smiled. "Beach ball!"

Meta Knight's expression twitched.

"Smart boy…" Jarle smirked. "Well that was a fun party." Joe decided then to put his cake-covered hands in his hair- as naturally spiky as his father's, and turning it into gooey mess. "Now give the brat a bath; he's disgusting."

"No!" Joe exclaimed upon hearing the word 'bath', sliding down from the chair and toddling awkwardly away. Jecra caught him easily, scooping him up under one arm. "No! Nooo!"

"This is what I have to deal with all the time, my dear brother," Jarle said, grinning as Jecra carried the squirming toddler away. "Get him before he touches the furniture or something." She looked at Meta Knight. "Guess who gets to clean up the rest…"

"…I had somewhere I needed to be," he said quickly, starting to leave. Jarle stepped on his cape. "…But, maybe I have a few minutes…"

"Great. Get something to get the frosting off the table," Jarle said, approaching the camera. She leaned over, and hit something because the screen went dark again. Bun waited.

When it came back on again it seemed to be in the same place, but the room was dark, the only light coming from the kitchen nearby. Bun waited a few moments but there was nothing… Who was filming this? Bun wondered. No, it would have to be a mistake- maybe the camera turned on by accident or Jarle hadn't turned it off right…

Frustrated, he reached forward, holding the fast-forward button until something changed. He hit play again and the screen showed Meta Knight sitting at the table, a mug of something between his hands in front of him.

Apparently Meta Knight hadn't noticed that the camera was on. This became plainly obvious as he put the mug down, his hands moving to the sides of his mask. There were two soft clicks and he moved it away from his face.

Bun was entirely sure he wasn't ever supposed to be seeing this. He was also thinking how before he'd been positive that the mask was permanently fused to Meta Knight's face. What could he possibly look like underneath?

And when he saw he couldn't help laughing a little. Not a mean laugh- sort of a delighted and confused one.

He was Kirby. Well, he looked like Kirby- he had the same face. It should have been obvious; their body shape was so similar. He even had the same rosy cheeks. His eyes were different though- they were pale amber ovals and a little spooky looking.

Meta Knight set the mask on the table and picked up the mug to drink. A sound came from off screen, a door closing, and then soft footsteps. The light from the kitchen was obscured slightly as another figure entered.

"What are you doing up this time of night?" Jecra asked, his voice hushed. "We have to leave early tomorrow; you should get some rest."

Meta Knight glanced over at him. "I don't sleep very much. You know that."

"Eh, yeah. But, still..." Jecra came up behind him, putting his arms on the back of the chair. "Nervous?"

"I'd say it's more anxious… Our group has one of the most important roles in the upcoming attack. We have to do everything perfectly… Just got Joe to sleep, I take it?"

"Eh, yeah… Oh, I feel kind of sorry for pushing him on Jarle like this. He's a handful."

"Look at the bright side- once this is over you'll get to deal with him every day if you want. Tantrums and all." Meta Knight grinned, looking up at Jecra's less than thrilled expression. He turned his eyes back to his drink. "Were you serious about what you said earlier?"

"Refresh my memory."

"You said after the war, I could stay with you."

"Well, of course. Unless you have something else you'd rather do."

Meta Knight shrugged. "No. I don't have anyone waiting for me, if that's what you mean."

"I don't see why anything should change after we destroy Nightmare for good. It'll be great- all of the traveling and none of the fighting for our lives."

"Jecra… with your mouth I think we'd still end up getting in trouble somewhere…"

"Less of it then," Jecra said, moving around the chair to sit in the one next to it. "Where would you want to go first? One of those ridiculously expensive vacation places? Someplace tropical…"

"I would like to relax for a while…" Meta Knight closed his eyes. "Anywhere where I wouldn't have to do anything. For weeks, if not months."

"That's the ticket then! We'll take the most relaxing damned vacation anyone has ever known. We'll be waited on hand and foot. I bet since we'll be famous for killing Nightmare it'll all be free too."

Meta Knight smiled- and his eyes had changed color, glowing a soft blue now. "I just hope it doesn't take that much longer to do it…"

"Hm? Do what?"

"Mm, nevermind. You're taunting me with all of this vacation talk, you know."

He laughed. "Sorry. I'll make it up to you."

"I thought you said you wanted me to get some rest…" Meta Knight finished his drink quickly. "Have I been designated by your sister to sleep on the couch again?"

"Yeah, but she's asleep, she won't know. She sleeps like the dead, believe me." Jecra stood up, Meta Knight following his example. They both paused for the moment- and then the screen went black.

Had the camera's batteries died? Bun looked at the TV, wondering if it would come back- and then he saw the reflection of the couch in the screen- and someone sitting on it.

He whirled around, heart jumping into his throat. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to it was an accident-"

"Quiet," Jarle said, a remote in her hand. "I actually wasn't sure where I'd put this. Thanks for finding it for me."

Bun was still for a moment. He was still alive? "U-Um… You're welcome?"

Jarle wasn't even looking at him. "That was one of the last recordings I have of him. Shame the beach ball had to be there too, but he and my stupid brother were pretty much inseparable. I never understood it…"

Bun didn't say anything. He wasn't really sure if he should or not.

She leaned back on the couch. "It'll be thirteen years to the day next week. He was twenty-six." She shook her head. "…He was still just a big dumb kid to me. I'd always heard he was completely different in battle, though. He was one of their best… It's probably why Nightmare decided to take him, of all people."

"Um…" Bun swallowed hard. This was much too sensitive of a subject. What could he say? "Um… I… I think I'd be really sad too if something happened… happened to my sister…" He realized then he hadn't ever thought of it before. Not like this. Fumu had been there all his life- for her to suddenly _not_ be was unthinkable. And right now he didn't know where she was or if she was okay.

"Of course… You don't realize how important something is until they're gone, right?" Jarle asked. "…Why are you crying?"

The tears had come without warning. Nothing had even happened, it was just the thought of it was so _horrible_ and it could really happen, just like it had with Jarle. "Be-because I d-don't know if F-Fumu is even alive…" he choked, sobbing now. "She l-left me here a-and…"

"She did it so you'd be safe. Big sisters have to look after their dumb little brothers."

"B-but-"

"Stop it. She wouldn't want you to cry like this and feel sorry for yourself." She didn't say the words harshly. She sounded kind of amused. "Oh, same thing I've been telling myself for years. Doesn't work very well."

Bun reached up under his striped hair, rubbing his eyes. "Is it st-still that bad?"

"…Only because I let it be. I'm that type. I'm too stubborn to just forget. I'll hold a grudge for years for the sake of holding it. It would piss him off if he was around."

Bun sniffled. "Well… he'd want you to be happy even without him…"

"I know. I never listened to him when he was here, though. Habits are hard to break." She looked back over at him. "You and Fumu get along pretty well?"

He nodded. "Yeah… usually. She has a pretty bad temper, though, and she'd rather read books than go out and play."

She grinned. "I see. Jecra was a little pest when he was your age. He was always tinkering with things and breaking them to put them back together. And even then he liked fighting. He took classes, everything he could- he loved it. They say Star Warriors show the traits early on, some kind of penchant for fighting… I'd always hoped otherwise, but once he was older we found out for sure… He was so happy, the idiot. He'd worshipped them as a kid, then he got to be one…"

"Was there anything about him you did like?" Bun asked.

"Of course. I just said it. Even if it annoyed me I liked those things about him..."

Bun, hesitantly, went over to sit on the couch- not too close to her. He wasn't really sure if talking about her brother made her happier or not. "Do you… have any other videos or anything?"

"Of him? Yeah… Older ones, when we were kids. I don't think I've watched those in years… What, you wanna see them?"

"Um… Well, if you want."

She stood up. "Sure, what the heck. Nothing else to do today." She went over to the cabinets and started searching around.

Bun sat back and smiled. Maybe Joe's aunt wasn't completely bad.

"Hey… I have a weird question…"

"What?"

"Um… How come you always call Meta Knight a beach ball?"

She grinned. "Because when you smack one of his kind across the room, it feels a lot like hitting a beach ball."

Bun wasn't sure if he should laugh at that or not, but he did anyway.

His stomach hurt a little; it did that when he was nervous. And now he wished more than anything that he knew if Fumu was okay.

* * *

Everything happened so fast.

Enemies came swarming in through the hallways, armored soldiers and all manner of creatures. Dozens of them- far too many to fight off in this closed space. Meta Knight didn't know why the defense systems hadn't stopped them. Yamikage himself was nowhere to be seen.

Kirby had fallen to the ground, perhaps unconscious as enemies poured into the room. Meta Knight fought them off as best as he could, but there were too many. Sword and Blade were starting to get overwhelmed and Joe couldn't use his ranged attacks for fear of hitting a friend or sending the entire place crashing around them.

Meta Knight dashed over to Kirby, picking up his still form under one arm. "Everyone, we have to get out! We can't fight all of them!" He didn't know where they could go, but then there was a light. One of the small Kabu's eyes glowed, and then another- showing a way to escape.

"Joe! Come on!" he shouted. He cut a path through the enemies and made sure everyone was there. And they ran.

He didn't know where Silica was now. Joe ran ahead of him, and behind him Sword carried Fumu on his back, Blade at his side. The hallways seemed endless, room after room, countless fallen warriors from countless generations.

Finally they came to a dead end. Surely the Kabu wouldn't have led them here, unless…

The wall swung open revealing a hidden path. They ran down quickly and it closed behind them.

Yamikage walked up to it several minutes later, placing his hand on the stone. There was no reaction.

"Well then… We'll have to force our way in, now won't we?" He laughed. "You can't escape from me, Meta Knight…"

* * *

The group sat exhausted in the hidden room, a huge Kabu statue over them. This one looked more like the one in Dreamland. Thankfully Silica was already there, the statues having led her away from danger as well.

"What… just… happened…?" Joe panted. "You said this place was safe…"

Meta Knight stared at the ground in front of him. He didn't know either. He just knew that everything had gone worse, more so than he could possibly have imagined.

"I thought the defenses destroyed anyone but Star Warriors…" Blade said.

"I guess they didn't since they were with Yamikage…" Fumu pondered.

Joe gritted his teeth. "Those first Star Warriors weren't too bright…"

"They couldn't have known that some of them would eventually become traitors…" Meta Knight said softly. "I don't know why they did anything they did, but it does us no good arguing over it now." He turned his attention to Kirby, who slept fitfully beside Fumu.

"What happened back there?" she asked softly.

Meta Knight didn't have an answer. "Perhaps we should wake him…"

"Good idea. Especially if they find us," Joe agreed, walking over. He nudged Kirby with his foot. "Okay, get up now!"

"I don't think that's going to work…" Fumu muttered. "He's having a bad dream, I can tell. He's been having a lot of them lately."

"Yes, I've noticed." Meta Knight nodded. "If Nightmare still exists then it would be expected for his presence to influence Kirby in some way. I've been having some unpleasant dreams myself."

"Weird, I've been having a lot of good ones," Joe mentioned.

"Star Warriors tend to be more sensitive to things like this."

"Yeah, I figured… Hey, who was that ninja guy?" he intoned. "You acted like you knew him."

"I honestly wish I didn't…"

"He was a Star Warrior that went to work for Nightmare, wasn't he?" Fumu asked. "Yamikage?"

Meta Knight nodded solemnly. "It's unheard of for a Star Warrior to defect… I met him, years ago when he was still on our side. Even then there was something… disturbing about him…"

Silica was busy checking the room for other entrances but there appeared to be none aside from the way they got in. "If they find a way in here, there's not going to be any way for us to get out."

"Try not to worry, Silica. We wouldn't have been led to a dead end."

She said something under her breath. Meta Knight turned back to Kirby and Fumu. Kirby suddenly stirred, mumbling something in his sleep. His eyes opened halfway, unfocused.

"Kirby!" Fumu exclaimed, shaking him. "Wake up! Come on, this isn't time for a nap!"

"Poy…" Kirby sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He looked around, eyes unfocused for a few moments. He had no idea where he was. "Poy… o?" Suddenly nothing made sense. There was the tomb and then there was a vast field. And then there was nothing but darkness. His dreams but not dreams.

"Kirby," Meta Knight put his hand on his shoulder as he noticed him staring off into space. "Are you all right?"

Kirby shook himself, trying to focus.

"What happened just now?" Meta Knight asked, turning Kirby to face him. "When Yamikage appeared? Do you even remember?"

The little Star Warrior's expression changed quickly, confusion to anger and then he cried out, falling back. Meta Knight caught him, holding him up as Kirby curled up, hands covering his eyes. "What is it?"

Kirby barely heard him. All he could process was the deluge of fragmented images that flashed through his mind. Places, people, things. He remembered seeing them, and yet he knew he never had. He felt Meta Knight grab his arms, pulling them away from his face. He opened his eyes, looking up at him…

Red. All around, a setting sun. It hurt his eyes but he couldn't look away. A million emotions he couldn't place. Meta Knight was there and there was blood.

Everything seemed to go in reverse then. Too many images again, darkness and light and it stopped again. He saw Yamikage. From his dreams again, too many nightmares. He remembered everything hurting so much and he was helpless. But, that had never happened.

Kirby's eyes were once again unfocused, his body trembling for reasons none of them could understand. Meta Knight could only hold him, powerless to do anything.

"What's happened to him?" Fumu asked desperately. "Did they do something to him?"

"I don't know!" he snapped. "Damnit…" Kirby suddenly calmed, his eyes refocusing again as the images started to subside. "Kirby?"

He stood on his own, relief washing over him as the images actually stopped. "Poy…" He rubbed his eyes. He felt dizzy.

"What was that!" Joe exclaimed. "You're scaring the hell out of us!"

"What happened?" Fumu asked. Kirby stared at her blankly.

"Poyo…" He had no idea how to explain it. "See… Bad dreams…"

There was a sudden deep rumbling in the distance and everyone froze. Silence fell, and they waited but there was no other noise.

"They're looking for us…" Silica hissed, weapon in hand. "Meta Knight! We have to escape."

"We will!" he snapped. "We can't have Kirby collapsing again if we have to fight." Too much happening too fast… He brought his hand up underneath his mask briefly, rubbing his eyes. He winced at a sudden pain, and looked to see he'd managed to re-open his cut during the escape at some point. Wonderful.

There was another crash, louder this time. Meta Knight nodded. "I guess we will have to worry about this later… Will you be all right?" Kirby nodded a little. And before Meta Knight could speak again, a passage opened at the base of the Kabu there. "Thank you…"

Joe paused, staring up at it. "So how come you guys don't just blast all the demons that got in? They're not Star Warriors."

To everyone's surprise, the Kabu's mouth moved and it spoke slowly. "Enemies cannot reach here."

"…Sorry to break this to you, but they did."

"We cannot activate the defenses yet."

Meta Knight looked up as well. "There are other defenses?"

"They cannot be activated."

"Why not?" Joe demanded.

"Defenses would destroy every living thing in this place. They cannot be activated yet."

Silence.

"It sounds pretty effective…" Silica mused. "Let's get out so the rest of these guys can get zapped!"

"How do we get to the ship?" Sword asked as they ran through the tunnel beneath the Kabu. Glowing gems in front of them answered- once again they were being shown the way.

"And what if they've all ready found it?" Joe asked.

"We hope that they haven't, or we fight them off there," Meta Knight said plainly.

* * *

The tunnel twisted and turned as they followed the lit path. At the very least their ancestors had provided ways to escape, even if their defense mechanisms were less than conventional.

Finally the wall opened at the end, opening into the same cavern they had arrived in, the ship in the distance.

"Yeah!" Joe exclaimed, running faster. "Let's get out of-"

He stopped, sensing something to his left and dodging as a fireball hit where he once was. He landed hard, as everyone looked over at the source. A group of soldiers and smaller demons had been waiting for them.

"Everyone to the ship!" Meta Knight commanded. There was nothing blocking their way- they had a chance.

He stopped suddenly, motioning for everyone to keep going as he unsheathed Galaxia, the tip glowing brightly before he swung it in an arc. The Sword Beam hit the approaching enemies, severing limbs and torsos and slowing the approach of the rest. He heard the ship's engines roar to life behind him.

"Come on!" Joe shouted. They were all in the ship and Meta Knight dashed over, Silica providing cover fire as he ran through the open hatch.

"Let's get out of here!"

Everyone gathered on the bridge as the ship rose, watching as the demons below tried to get at them.

Joe laughed. "Ha! Those guys don't have a clue what's going to happen. Bastards…"

The view outside darkened as they went back through the tunnel.

"We should arrive out at a different point…" Meta Knight said.

"And then?" Fumu asked quietly.

"And then we still have a mission to accomplish."

* * *

A dark armored figured snarled a curse, throwing his mace to the ground. "Bah! And we were so close."

His companion, a somewhat lizard-like fellow just lifted a scaly eyebrow. "You really think you could have beaten one of the legendary Star Warriors?"

"Sure I could have! I just didn't get a chance…" He sat down heavily against the wall as other disappointed demon beasts milled past. "So, now what?"

"I guess we'll get orders to clear out soon enough…"

"Eh, I need a vacation… This place is pretty relaxing, though. I could probably sit around here all day…" He looked up as he saw a little flash of light. "Hey, look." He pointed.

"What?"

"One of those funny little statues. I wonder why it's glowing like that?"

The lizard demon flicked his tongue out curiously. The Kabu's eyes were indeed glowing. And then another. And another. "That is weird…"

"It's getting brighter."

"Yeah…"

Silence.

"REQUIREMENTS MET." The voice came from nowhere, booming.

"What the-?"

"DEFENSES ACTIVATED."

"Oh fu-"

"INITIALIZE DECONTAMINATION."

"We don't get paid enough for this shit."

* * *

They saw stars before them as they emerged back out into space, and breathed a collective sigh of relief. But, the hardest part of their journey still awaited them. They still had to get into Nightmare's new base undetected. It would require an incredible amount of luck…

The ship's old computers suddenly blared a warning.

Sword made a choking sound from behind him. "S-Sir… it's…"

Meta Knight could all ready see; it was impossible to miss. They'd probably been waiting out there the entire time.

A fleet of Destrayar hovered around their small ship, dwarfing it.

"No…" Fumu's shook her head slowly, Kirby shrinking back beside her.

"How did they…" Blade said quietly.

"Yamikage must have known about this exit," Meta Knight said, his voice flat. "I should have expected it…"

"We have to get away!" Joe exclaimed.

"We won't be able to outmaneuver them in this ship. They'll destroy it and take Galaxia from the wreckage." He half wondered why they hadn't already. No… Yamikage had said he needed him alive.

"Then…"

"That's it, then, isn't it?" Silica stepped up beside him. "Unless you have some plan?"

He was silent for a long moment, eyes closed… "You've used those ships before."

"Destrayar? Yeah…" Silica's eyes lit up. "That's right… They have a small crew, and I know how to get to the bridge. There's enough of us, we can get through."

Suddenly a red beam shot from the underside of the closest one, enveloping the ship and drawing it closer. The main screen flickered, and Yamikage's face appeared.

"Leaving so soon?" He snickered. "We still have so much to catch up on, Meta Knight…"

The old knight was silent, his eyes flashing red.

"Going to accept your defeat silently? Very well then… Just come out of your ship peacefully and we might not open fire." His eyes narrowed and he vanished from the screen.

They drew closer to the massive ship, a panel opening in the bottom to bring in the merchant vessel.

Meta Knight spoke in a low voice. "We don't know how much extra security they might have…"

"We have to try," Silica insisted. "If you can provide a diversion, I can get to the control room."

"Alone?"

"I'll take Joe with me. We'll be fine." She grinned. "Right, Joe?"

"Of course!"

Meta Knight nodded. "Kirby, Sword, Blade and I can help you get there…"

"What about me?" Fumu asked, stepping forward. The look on her face showed she knew perfectly well she wasn't going to be much help in this situation.

"Stay with us. I gave you that gun- use it."

She lifted the weapon slightly, her expression uncertain. There was no time to worry about it now, though.

Everyone was quiet, their eyes on the view outside their ship.

"We're in their docking bay," Blade announced. "Should we go out to meet them?"

"That would be best. Everyone." Meta Knight wrapped his cape around himself and left the bridge. The rest followed.

-_ To be continued _


	8. Endeavor

_Chapter 8 - Endeavor_

_

* * *

_

The main window had shown a small group of various armored demon beasts waiting around the ship, weapons pointed at the main doors. They shuffled nervously- they had strength in numbers but they still didn't want to be there facing some of the strongest enemies their army had.

With a clank, the main door fell open, revealing blackness within. The captain of this particular group stepped forward. "All right, all of you have your hands raised when you come out, or we'll fire." He waited. No one came out. Maybe they didn't hear him? He went closer. "Get out here or we'll come in after-"

His sentence degenerated into inarticulate screaming as a searing burst of flame came from the shadows, enveloping him. The other demons fell back momentarily, their hesitation allowing Joe to run out and launch a quick volley of attacks at the ones closest while Silica changed her weapon to it's machine gun setting and opened fire.

"You two get going!" Meta Knight shouted, "We can handle them!"

"You sure? You all only have short range attacks!" Silica pointed out, firing a missile into the center of the group.

"Yes, now go!"

As they hurried towards the right exit, Meta Knight, Sword and Blade met with the remaining demon soldiers to hold them back. Galaxia cut through any armor easily, though he couldn't use his Sword Beam here for risk of cutting through the ship's hull.

Fumu stood back near the ship, the gun raised. Her hands were shaking. She'd never used something like this before. What if she hit a friend instead?

"Fumu…" Kirby looked at her, concerned.

"…Kirby, you probably have better aim than I do!" It was obvious enough, she thought. She tossed the gun to him. "Catch!"

And he did- in his mouth.

Some of the soldiers looked over at the sudden flash of light and headed for the seemingly unprotected girl, only to stop as Kirby was revealed wearing a strange blue-gray visor.

"Laser!" he shouted, pulling the visor down over his face. The red lens glowed, and a thin pink beam shot forward and hit the nearest soldier in the chest. He fell. In a split second three more beams shot out and the next were taken down with deadly accuracy. The others started to fall back.

Meta Knight grinned. Now if Joe and Silica could make it to their destination…

He paused for an instant then- something wasn't right. No reinforcements? Unless they were all busy with the other two now. Nonetheless…

"Sword, Blade! Keep your guards up!" he commanded, moving over towards Fumu and Kirby. Kirby had the visor down still, looking for another target.

Meta Knight looked over as Sword and Blade cried out. There were quick clanging sounds as their weapons were knocked from their hands by small black shuriken. Meta Knight saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned, barely blocking another with his sword. Something small and round fell next, exploding and releasing blinding smoke.

Meta Knight swore under his breath, hurrying to where he'd seen Kirby and Fumu. "Kirby!"

Then he saw red eyes shining in the smoke ahead of him, and a flash of steel. "I thought I'd see what you'd try to do… A commendable effort, but useless in the end."

Yamikage dashed forward in a blur, almost invisible in the dark smoke. Meta Knight blocked the first attack, but Yamikage dropped down and kicked out, sweeping his feet out from under him.

Meta Knight rolled to one side, righting himself quickly and trying to see where his opponent was- but he was gone.

Movement behind him. He whirled around as more daggers came, hitting his cape and pinning it to the floor. He pulled- the fabric was meant to tear easily- but it gave Yamikage more than enough time.

In the next instant Yamikage was in front of him. Meta Knight again brought up Galaxia to deflect Yamikage's katana, not seeing the dagger he held in his other hand. He turned, barely deflecting it with his mask.

Yamikage slashed at him quickly. The smoke was clearing, and then Meta Knight saw a blast of red. Yamikage ducked as a thin laser shot over him. Meta Knight could just make out Kirby's outline.

"Kirby! Don't!"

The next shot Yamikage didn't dodge- instead he blocked with his katana. And the beam reflected back at Kirby, shocking him and sending him tumbling back against a wall.

Meta Knight ran over to stop Yamikage from attacking him, Galaxia leaving a gouge in the metal floor as the dark ninja easily dodged.

"You're too slow to hit me," he sneered. "I was hoping for a more impressive battle than this…" He vanished. Whether he'd teleported or was simply moving too fast to see, Meta Knight didn't know.

He couldn't possibly dodge a strong hit to his side that sent him crashing to the ground, momentarily stunned. He heard a sound as several daggers were thrown and rolled to avoid them, not fast enough as two of them grazed his arm and foot.

He stood finally, facing Yamikage- who had vanished once again. Behind him? He turned- no, above!

The katana impacted hard with his mask. He had no time at all to react as he was kicked hard in the side. He finally had a moment to swing Galaxia, but Yamikage jumped back out of the way.

Yamikage brought his hands in front of him. "_Fuujin no jutsu_!" He shouted an attack in an unfamiliar language. As he threw his hands out a sudden intense blast of wind came from nowhere, taking Meta Knight off guard and launching him backwards. This time he hit the side of the ship- hard. Stunned, he slumped down to the ground.

Yamikage was in front of him instantly. "This isn't even any fun. Have your skills deteriorated this much?" He stood in a relaxed position, katana over his shoulder. "We caught the little boy and girl you sent out, by the way. Having children do your work, Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight looked around at the others and his heart fell. Two armored demon beasts held Sword and Blade, while Fumu stood over an unconscious Kirby, knowing she couldn't defend him against the soldiers that had surrounded them.

"We won't kill them just yet, so don't worry about that."

Meta Knight looked up at him, breathing hard. "What about me? I'm at your mercy." He held up Galaxia. "This is what you want. Why not kill me and take it?"

Yamikage's eyes narrowed… and his hand shot out, touching the sword's hilt briefly. There was a brilliant light, the ninja stepping back as the sword's energy arced out toward him.

He shook his hand, the guard covering it scorched. "Unfortunately, it isn't so simple. We hadn't realized at first, but wouldn't you know it? There isn't anyone of us that can wield it. So… we need you alive." The look that came to his eyes then was chilling. "Why else would we let you get here so easily?"

Meta Knight was silent, his mind racing. Just as he'd thought, but he'd expected for them all to be killed upon their arrival. He tried to stand, but he found he could barely move. Had he been injured that much?

"It really was a nice effort. You actually had us thrown off with your little ship switch for a while, but it wasn't enough." He returned his katana to the sheath on his back before turning to some of the other demon soldiers. "When we arrive at the base, take the children to the first cell block. Be sure to secure the boy well, as he's the same one that defeated our two strongest demons... As for the Star Warriors… Take them into the maximum security block." He glanced at Meta Knight. "Don't try anything. Not that you could… I tip my daggers in poison. Nothing deadly, but you should feel considerably weakened."

Meta Knight managed a humorless laugh. "You never were one to fight fair, were you?"

"Fair? Only idiots fight fair." Yamikage gestured to him and one of the big warriors grabbed the fallen knight ungraciously by his cape, lifting him into the air. "Humiliating, isn't it? But don't worry, things can always get worse…"

* * *

Silica was immediately struck by the lack of… anything as they ran down the wide hallway. No guards had come to stop them and there was no sound except for Joe running in front of her.

"Joe, stop!" she exclaimed, skidding to a halt. He did, looking back at her with some confusion.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It shouldn't be this quiet."

He paused for a moment, listening. "…Yeah. I don't even hear anything behind us."

Silica grimaced. "You don't think…"

Whatever thought it was, it was given no chance to be expressed to as the lights suddenly went off, plunging them into total darkness.

"Silica!" Joe exclaimed.

Silica swore under her breath. Useful as her weapon was it didn't have everything- specifically a flashlight! "Joe, I'm over he-" She was cut off as something big hit her side, slamming her hard against the wall.

Joe heard it and also heard the breathing and footsteps of the enemies that had gathered. He didn't know how they could see them but it didn't matter. He knew where they were.

"Vulcan Jab!" He was rewarded with a howl of pain, and the energy from his attacks briefly lit up the area. He heard movement behind him, turning in mid-air. "Spin Kick!" Another down.

He heard one slash at him, the sound of it cutting through the air. He ducked, rolling to the side. He heard more of them- too many.

"Silica! Damnit where are you!" He heard a muffled groan to his left and ran over.

He hit something on the ground and stumbled. He recovered quickly, but it gave something in the darkness the chance to grab him. Something cold and scaly wrapped around his upper body, squeezing. He cursed, hitting it with his free arm but it didn't let go.

Whatever it was suddenly flung him back, and then forward, terribly hard against the steel floor. He couldn't right himself in time and landed wrong. There was a nauseating snap, and blinding agony shot up through his leg. And deep laughter nearby was all he remembered before he fell unconscious.

* * *

This wasn't right.

Fumu sat in the corner of the small cell, feet up against her chest and arms around herself.

After all that, they were captured anyway. The possibility had always been there, in the back of her mind, but things never happened this way. Kirby always won, somehow. This wasn't how things were supposed to go at all.

They'd taken Meta Knight and Kirby away somewhere and she worried that might be the last she'd ever see of them.

Sword and Blade shared a cell with her. The demons that had captured them had taken their weapons and armor, so there was little they could do now- or so their captors believed.

There were two guards stationed outside their cell. Naturally they weren't the brightest types, but they were big and had big weapons that they knew how to use. They weren't going to get out that way.

The place seemed old. It was far from being the high-tech fortress Nightmare once had. This looked more than an abandoned base his remaining army had taken over.

Sword and Blade were on the other side of the cell, speaking in hushed tones.

"Well, they didn't take everything…" Sword said, reaching into a pocket at his side and pulling out a folded leather case. A variety of small tools were inside.

"Yeah, I have mine too… Doesn't look like there's anyplace in here we can use them." Blade leaned back, scanning the small room again. His gaze fell on a small grate on the ceiling. He frowned. "They'd probably expect it…"

"It's worth a shot…"

Fumu noticed they were both looking at her. "…What is it?" She stood up, going over to the two. "Did you find something?"

Blade gestured to the ceiling. "Big places like this need ventilation. That grate leads somewhere."

"You want to escape through there?"

He nodded. "Probably only one of us. But, if we can get to a computer terminal, maybe find a map of the place… or get information any other way, we can find where the others are being held."

"And then what?"

"We can only plan so far ahead!" Sword exclaimed quietly. "But, we can't just sit here. We don't know how long we have until they decide to kill all of us and be done with it."

She nodded, swallowing hard. "Won't they expect this?"

Sword grinned. "Not from us, apparently. 'Level zero threats' they said…"

"I don't know… So far we haven't had very good luck with this sort of thing…" She folded her arms over her chest, brow furrowed.

"It's our best chance right now," Sword insisted. "Nightmare's going to be busy with Meta Knight and Kirby now; no one's going to care about us."

Blade brought his hand to his chin. "Maybe we could get disguises or something?"

There was a sudden clang at the door. "Hey! What are you guys talking about in there!"

"Oh, just discussing what we want our last meals to be," Sword quickly lied.

The guard laughed. "Ha! We don't give last meals. And keep it down! I'm trying to sleep…"

* * *

Joe awoke slowly, his vision spinning. He was lying on his back, looking up at a ceiling he didn't recognize. He tried to move his hands, but couldn't. He tried to move his legs-

PAIN.

He bit back a cry, eyes squeezed shut. He waited a moment, breathing hard, and managed to sit up slightly.

His hands were in shackles that covered them completely. He pulled hard at the chains connecting them to the cot he was on, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to get out easily.

His legs they hadn't bothered restraining- and he saw why, his stomach flipping as he saw the unnatural angle his left foot was turned. It looked like the bone had been fractured a few inches below his knee.

Joe scanned the room quickly. It was a small holding cell with two beds- he was on one, and on the other…

"Silica! Hey, Silica! Wake up!"

Her head lifted somewhat. "Mmwha?" She brought her hand up to her forehead. "Damnit…" She could feel a lovely bump right above her hairline. She sat up quickly as she remembered where they were. "Joe!" She jumped off the cot, running over. "Are you- oh." She saw his leg.

"It doesn't hurt very much," he lied. He tugged at the shackles around his hands. "I guess they didn't want to take any chances…"

"And they took my weapon of course… Funny, I stole it from them in the first place," she grinned, but then it fell. "I can't do much without it… But, I know we need to do something about your leg."

"…Something like what?"

"I could set it at least. Maybe find something to make a splint…"

The color drained from his face. "…I'll be fine."

"Don't be stupid! If we have to escape you aren't even going to be able to move."

Joe stared at the wall in front of him for a moment. "Do you think everyone else is all right?"

"…I really have no idea. I'll assume that if we're okay, they wouldn't have done anything to them either…" She sat on the edge of the cot. "Why the hell are we still alive? Wouldn't it be easier for them to just kill us?"

"That's what I'm worried about…" Joe said pensively.

Silica looked back at his leg. "It looks like a pretty clean break. It'll hurt, but if I can set it…"

"Just get it over with!" he exclaimed, looking away.

Silica shook her head slightly, and then untied the bandana around her forehead. She folded it over a few times and held it in front of him. "Bite down on this."

He looked like he was going to complain, but decided against it and did as told.

Silica felt the break carefully and Joe winced. "Never had a break like this, I take it? Me neither… Well, I don't have legs like you do, so I guess I couldn't…" Joe made a sort of growling sound. "Right, right… Okay, I'm going to count to five."

Joe nodded.

"One… two…"

He probably should have expected that she wasn't going to wait until five.

The guard outside their cell jumped and looked in through the small window as he heard a muffled scream. "Hey, what's going on in there?"

"He's hurt, you buffoon," Silica snapped. Joe was lying back again, and she wondered if maybe he'd passed out. "…Damnit." She didn't have anything to make a splint, she realized. She hurried over to the door. "Hey you."

"What?" She saw a pair of red eyes through the window.

It was worth a try, she thought. "I need something long and stiff that I can-"

He interrupted her, laughing. "Oh really? I got something right here, li'l lady…"

She kicked the door hard with a resounded clang. She scowled, turning around to see if she could find anything… She noticed finally on the bottom of her cot, one of the smaller metal supports had fallen off. It was just the right size.

She took it, using her bandana and Joe's to tie it securely to his leg above the knee and to his foot. It wasn't perfect, but it would do.

"You okay?"

"…Honestly… No."

"You'll live." She went back over to sit on her cot. "I guess we have to wait now."

"For what?"

She frowned. "For someone to rescue us. Unless you think you could do something in your condition."

He grumbled something.

"I'm glad we agree." Silica lay back on her cot. They were both quiet for a few minutes. "…Hard to believe, isn't it?" She turned to look at him.

"What is? That we screwed up this badly?" He was staring up at the ceiling.

"That's a harsh way of putting it."

"It's true. We played right into their traps and now we're basically sitting here waiting until they feel like killing us."

She narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you optimistic."

His head snapped over, his eyes burning on her. "I can't walk. I would be an easy target even if we do manage to get out somehow. I'd be dead weight."

"Your arms aren't broken are they? Hell, I would carry you if I had to. Unless you're too good for that."

He lifted an eyebrow. "You aren't that strong."

"I can surprise you."

Joe shook his head. "Who would rescue us anyway? Meta Knight and Kirby are probably under the best guard they have… I don't know about the rest."

"I'd place my bets on Fumu. Naïve as she is, she has a good head on her shoulders…"

He winced. "I'm not sure I want to put all my hopes on her."

"Well, I don't know what to say…"

The two sat there in silence for a long moment, letting the situation sink in.

"…Now what?" Joe asked quietly.

"We wait. And we hope that someone gets us out of here."

* * *

Meta Knight tested his bonds again, knowing they were never going to give, but it made him feel better to try rather than to keep hanging there.

He wasn't in a cell like the others, but rather a somewhat larger and dimly lit room with no notable features to speak of, except for the small pedestal near him that held Galaxia, still in its scabbard.

His arms and feet were shackled securely, tight enough to be uncomfortable. He wasn't nearly as flexible as Kirby was, so try as he might he couldn't pull free. Making it worse, several curved, almost claw-like spikes curved over the rest of his body, digging in painfully when he moved too much. He couldn't simply hang by his arms or get into anything resembling a comfortable position without being jabbed by one of them.

And his mask was gone. He felt distinctly vulnerable without that piece of armor, and Yamikage knew it.

He didn't know where Yamikage had gone, but it was leaving him plenty of time to contemplate his fate. Escape was a distant speck now, hardly even worth noticing. He wondered if they planned on using the others to get Meta Knight to use Galaxia to do… whatever it was specifically that they needed it for.

The door opened with a slight hiss, and he could see Yamikage silhouetted against the light outside. It closed and he approached his prisoner slowly, taking his time.

"You probably have many questions, don't you?" he stated. "Or maybe you've figured it out by now." His red eyes were filled with what looked like delight. "How long has it been since we had a nice long chat? Nearly ten years at least."

Meta Knight didn't say a word, eyes narrowed.

Yamikage chuckled. "Oh, I can understand why you'd wear that piece of metal over your face all the time. Trying to look angry and stoic I see, but you just look like a pouting child. Cute." He laughed again. Meta Knight didn't show any reaction.

"Well, then… I might as well let you know why you're still alive." Yamikage went to Galaxia's pedestal. "A truly amazing creation… More than just a blade with a soul. It possesses power beyond what any of us could ever hope to utilize. It could destroy even you to try it.

"That kind of power could bring my master back to nearly his full strength in a fraction of the time it would normally take."

Meta Knight's eyes went wide. "…And where is he?"

"Hm?"

"Nightmare. Where is he now?" He had appeared as a massive, invincible specter at their last battle. What had he been reduced to?

Yamikage didn't answer. Instead a deep, twisted voice emanated from seemingly nowhere, almost directly into his mind.

"Star Warrior, Meta Knight. I've always had a kind of respect for you," Nightmare's voice said coldly. "You've survived longer than most any other of your kind. You've come far."

Meta Knight looked around quickly, but there was nothing. Yamikage chuckled.

"My lord is too weak to have a material form at all times… He's residing in a host now until he regains his strength."

Meta Knight stared as Yamikage brought one hand up, palm upwards. A small speck of light appeared, growing and spinning, turning a dark shimmering shade of purple with an odd star-shaped pattern.

"Allow me to present my master, the Emperor of Darkness- Lord Nightmare."

"He's… in you?" Meta Knight asked, incredulous. He watched as the dark orb spun, floating off to one side of the ninja.

"Indeed. It is truly a rare honor… And for the time, I have many of his powers. They're really quite fun…" He laughed, low and cruel. "Would you like to see?"

Meta Knight didn't bother to answer. "So, you want me to help Nightmare return to power."

"More or less. Nightmare needs Galaxia's power, but he has to absorb it somehow… I can't touch it." His eyes glinted. "And you can."

"…Are you going to force me?"

"Unless you feel like making this easier on yourself and going along willingly," he said sardonically.

The orb hovering near him spoke. "He's too strong still, Yamikage, I can sense it. I wouldn't be able to make any progress…"

"I figured as much…" Yamikage said. He grinned at Meta Knight's shocked expression as it dawned on him what they were planning. "Unfortunately- unless he has a willing host- my master can only forcibly control those who are simple minded or severely weakened, even in the best of times. You're hardly the former, if you don't mind a compliment… And far too stubborn." He turned to the orb. "What can we do about this?"

Nightmare laughed cruelly. "Do what you wish. His pain will strengthen me further." The orb spun and disappeared, the power reabsorbed into Yamikage.

Meta Knight couldn't help a slight shudder. He'd almost been denying the gravity of the situation, and it suddenly had become all too horrifyingly clear.

* * *

Blade had lost the coin toss.

And he hated closed in spaces.

They couldn't have made Fumu go out on her own. Even assuming she could defend herself, she wouldn't know what to look for.

Sword had stayed behind with her, arranging the blankets on one of the cots to make it look like someone was there with the plan to tell any guards peering in that their friend wasn't feeling well. So far the guards had been completely ignoring them, so they didn't expect to have any trouble.

"What if I don't come back?" Blade asked him shortly before he'd left.

Sword stared back at him. "Don't talk like that. I'd go with you if I could…"

He shook his head. "No… it's better if only one of us goes; one person can sneak around better than two."

Blade looked down at a small scrap of paper with the light from another grate, marking down the last turn he'd made. He needed to be able to find his way back.

The first priority was finding transportation. Even if they did manage to break out, if they were stuck wherever this was it didn't do them any good.

After that, he needed to find out what the layout of this place was, and where Joe, Silica, Meta Knight and Kirby were being held. Once he knew this, they could proceed with their plan.

It was all much, much easier said than done.

Blade tried sitting up a little, hissing in pain as he smacked his head against the top. He waited, not even breathing; worried that someone could have heard that small sound… He heard nothing. He'd seen only a few demons and armored soldiers walking through the hallways.

Looking through the grates in the vent as he passed them, he finally came upon something useful. A computer terminal.

The room was dark, the only light coming from a selection of screens at the right. No one was there. After removing the grating and making a quick scan for any cameras, he lowered himself down and hurried over to the nearest console.

At this point, his luck decided to give out, and he heard the door open.

In the second before the lights turned on, he ducked under one of the consoles, backing up and making himself as small as possible. He could only see the feet of the three soldiers who entered.

"Who left these systems on?" one grumbled, approaching the station Blade was under.

"Probably whoever was in here last… Don't ask me, I don't know who!" another replied.

The first did something with the computer for a few minutes while Blade waited, unmoving. Several long, long minutes passed and the soldier finished with whatever he was doing and turned towards the exit.

"Lock the door on the way out," he told the others. Moments later Blade heard the door close, and a click. He came out from his impromptu hiding place.

The computer was still on, but now to his disappointment a large 'Insert Password' screen was displayed prominently.

"Can't be anything obvious…" he mumbled. Nothing like 'Nightmare' backwards. And even somewhat less obvious things like 'Star Warrior' backwards probably wouldn't work. With his luck it was a random string of numbers and letters.

This obviously wasn't going to work. Shaking his head, he made his way back into the vents.

* * *

_-TBC_

_Nightmare's voice – www.ivynajspyder .com/nightmare.mp3_


	9. Anguish

_Chapter 9 – Anguish_

_

* * *

_

It hadn't even been an hour, and all ready he was exhausted.

Yamikage had left much earlier, saying he had things to attend to first. He hadn't even done anything, to Meta Knight's surprise.

But hanging there, trying to keep from being stabbed by any of the claw spikes around him was taxing enough. He swore that they moved when he even thought he'd gotten into an almost comfortable position…

And then, as if to prove his suspicions, the spikes withdrew completely. He took a moment before he relaxed, fearing that they would come out again as he least expected it. He waited, and there was nothing. He hung there by his arms, eyes on the door and wondering what was going to happen.

He was tired. Likely the lingering effects of the poison-tipped daggers, coupled with his physical exhaustion. He closed his eyes for a moment, wanting to rest…

_No! Not now!_ His eyes snapped open.

And everything had changed.

He wasn't chained up anymore. He wasn't in that dark room in that forsaken place.

He was in his bed, in his own room at the castle, sitting amidst tousled sheets.

A dream? That was all…?

No, this was a dream. It had to be.

He got up slowly, scanning the room. Everything was as it should be. The floor felt solid beneath his feet. His mask was on the table next to his bed and he put it on, feeling it click into place.

The living room too, looked normal. The weapons on the walls, the small bookshelf, even the jar of candy on the windowsill. On an impulse he walked over and took one. It tasted sweet. You couldn't taste things in dreams, could you?

He opened the door and a Waddle Dee ran past, perhaps on an errand from Dedede. Another brushed away cobwebs in a corner nearby.

He stood there for a long moment, his cape wrapped around himself tightly.

It had all been a dream? No, impossible. But, what was this?

"Sir Meta Knight!"

A little shocked, he turned to see Sword and Blade standing in the hallway next to him.

"…Yes?" he managed to say.

"Just reporting we saw Dedede having some Waddle Dees carry something suspicious into the basement," Sword said.

Blade sighed. "You don't need to be a genius to know he's up to something…"

"I see… Thank you…" he mumbled. Nothing was amiss.

"Sir? Are you all right?" Sword asked, moving closer.

"…I'm fine."

His subordinate nodded. "Let us know if there's a problem."

"I will… Keep an eye on Dedede and let me know if anything else happens."

"Yes Sir!" They both ran off.

He walked down the long hallways, seeing the occasional Waddle Dee. Same as it always had been. The view from the castle's highest balcony showed the same view he'd grown accustomed to seeing for years. He felt the breeze against his face, the air warm. It was a beautiful day.

Something was so very wrong.

And yet, he felt like he was being silly for worrying. All of that- all of the mess with Nightmare returning, becoming his prisoner, all just a dream. Wouldn't that be nice?

"Oh, Sir Meta Knight!"

It was Fumu, who saw him as he came down the stairs.

"Good morning…" He walked over to her. "How is everything?" They talked whenever they happened to run into each other, but he never went out of his way. He liked to at least be polite.

Fumu was locked up somewhere now. Not home at the castle. Not here speaking with him.

"Oh, same as usual… What about you?"

He laughed, just a little. "I had the strangest dream…"

"You did?"

"Yes… Maybe it was more of a nightmare, really."

She smiled. "It must have been pretty bad if it's bothering you."

"I suppose so…"

She turned, waving. "Well, I need to get going. We're going on a picnic today and I need to get ready. See you later!"

Meta Knight waved back and watched as she left.

He turned around and his vision was assaulted by red.

The green stone of the hallway was soaked in blood. Bright splatters across the floor and ceiling, a grisly work of art.

"Hard to tell sometimes, isn't it?"

He recognized the voice instantly. He turned, seeing Yamikage sitting in a window. He immediately reached for his sword- to find it wasn't there.

"It's easy to create a dream world so real that anyone could fall for it. You just need to use their own memories."

Meta Knight was speechless. "…You…" He had, he realized- he had very nearly fallen for the illusion.

Yamikage jumped down off the windowsill. "And this is only a taste of my master's powers… The inside of your mind is quite a fascinating place, you know."

Meta Knight had a sudden feeling of revulsion. Could they sort through his thoughts and memories as easily as flipping through the pages of a book?

"We still have much to do. Now, wake up."

As soon as he said it, Meta Knight felt the bonds around his arms and feet again, the room going from the blood splattered hallway to his prison.

Yamikage stood near Galaxia's pedestal. "Now the fun begins for real."

The door opened, and two beastly armored figures entered, carrying a struggling figure between them. Meta Knight couldn't see at first, but as they got closer…

"Fumu!"

The girl was bound and gagged, eyes wide in terror. The two guards pushed her roughly to the floor and Yamikage walked over, picking her up by her hair.

"I kept all of your comrades alive, you know. Some in better condition than others…" He approached Meta Knight, dragging the girl.

"Leave them out of this," Meta Knight hissed.

"What? Oh, you don't want me to do anything like threaten to kill them unless you surrender yourself?" he asked, tone light. "You don't have to worry about that. You see… I know you wouldn't save this one girl in exchange for the lives of everyone else in the universe."

Fumu had stopped struggling, now just breathing hard, tears in her eyes as she stared ahead at Meta Knight.

Yamikage laughed quietly. "Tell her, Meta Knight. Tell her that her one life isn't that important."

"Let her go."

"Or you'll what? Would you like to bargain with me?"

"Let her GO. She isn't a part of this!"

Yamikage pulled hard at her hair, eliciting a muffled yelp. "But, she is, so very much so. Her terror gives my master strength. That's all that's important in the long run, you know. This is a means to an end."

Her eyes were on him, pleading.

"Yamikage! What do you want from me!" Meta Knight demanded.

He appeared to smile. "I thought I explained this."

A dagger glinted in his hand.

"We want you to suffer."

It was a quick, brutally efficient movement. One hand yanked her head back, as the other sliced the blade across her neck. A sudden gush of bright arterial blood, covering her and pooling at her feet.

Meta Knight could only watch.

Yamikage let her body fall to the ground, wiping his dagger in the front of his outfit. "Mm, it's not very satisfying to do it quickly… But, that was a practice run anyway."

She was gone. In the moment it took for him to blink, she was gone. No body. No blood.

The ninja laughed viciously. "It's impossible to tell, isn't it? Was that real? Or is this the dream, and she's still bleeding her life onto the floor? Care to make a guess?"

Meta Knight's eyes were wide and completely pale as he stared at the spot, unable to shake the image.

"Oh, who should we try for real? Perhaps one of your loyal followers? Or maybe that other boy…"

Meta Knight couldn't keep the slight pleading tone from his voice. "Stop this."

A short, annoyed laugh. "I have no reason to. We will get what we want. And you're helpless to do anything about it."

Yamikage walked towards him casually, tossing a shuriken in his hand. "It's really far more interesting than your usual torture. Physical methods… While satisfying, the body can only take so much."

He threw it, and Meta Knight winced as it hit right above his arm, nicking his skin.

"The mind… In some ways, it's far more resilient. In others… Oh, it doesn't take much to reduce a man to a gibbering lunatic… But the mind has its limits too. It's just so much fun finding them."

She was there again. Fumu. In front of him, neck gaping and blood soaked, grabbing at him. Eyes full of pain. And then she was gone just as quickly.

Yamikage studied him for a moment. "It bothers you, but I know she isn't that important to you. You simply wouldn't like to see anyone die like that, not when you can't do anything about it." He paced as he thought aloud.

"…Are they really all alive?" he chanced asking.

"Of course they are. Alive and well- I swear on my life," Yamikage replied nonchalantly.

"Why are you bringing them into this?"

He smirked behind his cloth mask. "They've caused us plenty of trouble. What, should we just let them go? Give me a good reason and maybe I'll consider it." Meta Knight didn't reply. "Well, I was hoping to keep it a surprise… but if you must know…" He walked closer. "…I was planning on having you kill them instead." He laughed again as he saw Meta Knight's eyes widen. "Well, it will give you something to look forward to, once my master has control over your body."

"…Why?"

Yamikage scoffed, as if it was a ridiculous question. "I know you better than you'd think, Meta Knight. I could simply parade all of those children in here one at a time, torture and kill them all in front of you. I would really enjoy it, to be honest. But, you've all ready seen your friends die… So many of them over the years. You don't let it phase you anymore, do you." A statement, not a question.

The knight shook his head. "I've always grieved. But, my friends died for a worthy cause. And besides…" A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "If you believe the stories, they aren't gone for very long."

Laughter. Not from Yamikage, but deeper. The dark orb materialized near him again, Nightmare's voice echoing in the empty room.

"It's true, Star Warrior," he said, hovering around Meta Knight. "It's exactly as your ancestors intended. Star Warriors have existed in a constant cycle of death and rebirth for countless millennia."

Meta Knight followed the orb's movement, his eyes glowing a disturbing red. "So there would always have someone to fight against you."

He laughed again. "I know. Do you not think I realized it? Do you not think I would have done something about it?"

Meta Knight's voice faltered. "What do you mean?"

"I could not have allowed the cycle to continue. But even if I killed every last one, they'd only come back. I tried killing you Star Warriors when you were young, before you were a threat. I either couldn't find you, or some force protected you," he said angrily, the orb spinning faster. "But, I found a way. I found a weakness in the cycle. Exactly when the soul leaves the body… right at that point, the soul can be taken. Thus, it can never be reborn."

Meta Knight had a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. "You… you destroyed their souls."

He scoffed. "No. I've tried, but that isn't possible. Nor can I force them to cross over. Very powerful souls, these ones… It's difficult enough just keeping them contained. Nevertheless, it solved my problem quite nicely." He hovered back over towards Yamikage.

The ninja folded his arms over his chest as the orb vanished again. "Shame. You can't even look forward to your friends coming back to help someday." He chuckled.

Meta Knight hung there unresponsive, eyes on the floor in front of him. It wasn't possible. He'd always had the hope that the new generation would come. He'd clung to it. Even only Kirby had managed so much, but he was one person and only a child.

The new generation of Star Warriors had never come.

And they never would.

He hardly even noticed as Yamikage came closer. He only looked up as he felt his hand on his face in an unsettling gesture. "As fun as these mind games are, sometimes it's nice to go back to the basics… You could say I still get a taste for real blood sometimes."

He held something else in his hand, a small device Meta Knight couldn't make out. Suddenly the claw spikes jutted back out, jabbing him harshly. And before he could even pull away, an extra level of pain was added, his body convulsing as an electrical charge passed through him.

Yamikage stopped it after several seconds, setting the device on the pedestal near him. "You have a higher tolerance than I expected… That would have rendered most unconscious." He moved closer, pulling out a flat black dagger from a sheath on his side, running his finger over the edge. "I love finding the limits of someone's endurance. How much pain can they endure before they pass out? How much can their body take?" He spoke with a twisted glee, holding the blade up to Meta Knight's face.

"Once you find their limits, you can bring them to the brink over and over again. You can maximize the pain they feel."

Meta Knight's breath came in short gasps. He tried to withdraw, but he could not move. In a way he had never felt before, he was afraid. He was truly at this sadist's mercy, and it horrified him like few things had in his long life.

Yamikage pressed the blade to his skin. "I want to hear you beg for death, Meta Knight. I want to hear you scream."

* * *

Blade's search had finally been successful.

After three rooms and more than enough close calls, he'd found a computer terminal he could access.

His hands flew across the keys; his heart pounding as he worried someone would enter the room at any second.

Images and menus flashed across the screen as he searched for what he needed. There! An image of lines and labels appeared- a map.

He couldn't make sense of it at first. It was huge- but then zoomed in on a red dot. Apparently it was his current location. He did a quick scan for where they had been held- Cell Block 1. Most of the cells were in gray- one was in green, where Fumu and Sword still were. It wasn't too far from where he was now.

He looked over the other cells, looking for other ones in green… He grinned when he saw it, in one of the higher guarded sections. That must be where Joe and Silica were.

But he saw no sign of any other occupied cells. Meta Knight and Kirby could be in a completely different part of the complex… Or they more likely, they wouldn't be shown on the map at all.

He had an excellent memory for directions, and so only needed to look it over a few times to get it down.

So absorbed was he in his discovery, he didn't noticed as the door opened, and a dark figure slid behind him. He froze as his long ponytail was grabbed from behind, a gun pressed to the side of his head.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing?" a gruff voice snarled. "This is a restricted area."

"Oh, is it? No one told me that," Blade said, inappropriately casual. "I'm lost you see, just trying to find my way around."

"Eh?" This served to confuse the guard behind him. "What are you talking ab-"

Blade's hand shot up, hitting him in the arm and causing him to lose his grip on the gun. Blade spun, grabbing it from him. The guard tackled him, trying to get it back. Not wanting a shot to attract attention, Blade put him out of commission by hitting him hard in the side of the head with it, and he crumpled to the floor.

"Not so bad…" he muttered, heart racing. He didn't hear anyone else coming. He realized he should have asked the guy for directions before he knocked him out, but it didn't really matter now.

He looked back at the map, searching again until he found the base's hanger. It showed several ships docked, including many smaller ones that would be perfect for their means.

There was still no sign of where Kirby and Meta Knight could be held. There was a maximum-security section some distance away from the rest of the cells, but it didn't show if they were actually there. They'd have to find someone to interrogate, or just take their chances.

Grinning to himself, he returned the computer to the state it was when he left, shoved the unconscious soldier in a nearby supply room, locked the door and left the same way he came in. He kept the gun, and some other odds and ends he'd stolen.

* * *

Kirby was alone. And he was scared.

He wasn't chained as Meta Knight was- instead they'd just blocked his only means of attack. A simple looking gag had been placed over his mouth, straps going from it around his body above and below his arms, stuck tight. It hurt to try to take it off. He could breathe through it, but he wouldn't be able to suck anything up.

The cell he was in was small and dark, only a single flickering light overhead.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been in a place like this before. Cold steel walls, and a memory of everything hurting so much… yet he knew nothing like that had ever happened to him.

He whimpered softly, going up to the only door and trying to look out through the window at the top. It was too high, and he couldn't expand to make himself float either.

There was no bed to lie down on, and perhaps most distressing, no food to be seen. He needed some right now, if only for comfort.

Hours had gone by since he'd been put in this awful place. He didn't know if Meta Knight, or Fumu or Joe or anyone was okay. He kept imagining that they were all dead all ready, and he was going to be next.

He couldn't do anything to save them. He couldn't use his only power- not that there was anything in here he could use. He couldn't even call the Warpstar himself.

Kirby had tried. He couldn't speak well through the gag, but he had tried, same as Fumu always had. But, the Warpstar never came. Maybe it couldn't hear him? Or maybe it was stuck somewhere, just like he was.

He sat down against the back wall, waiting for whatever was going to happen to him. He wanted to see all of his friends again.

He closed his eyes for just a moment, and then he heard the door open.

* * *

He had no way of knowing how much time passed. Minutes, hours perhaps. Yamikage himself seemed to lose track of the time, completely absorbed in what he was doing until he was called somewhere. And finally, mercifully, he allowed Meta Knight to fall unconscious.

And now he awoke to the sounds of explosions and screaming.

A battle was raging around him. Demon beasts of all types fought with claws and teeth against the blades of several dozen Star Warriors. He recognized them all- but they had all died years ago.

"Another dream," he said quietly.

"Hey! What are you doing!" one of his comrades exclaimed, a taller warrior in blue armor. "This isn't the place to be day drea-"

He hadn't even finished speaking as he was cut down, bright red gouges on his chest as a wolf-beast slashed through his armor like it wasn't even there.

"…Only a dream. This is not happening… This is just a dream…" Meta Knight backed away, repeating the mantra as he saw two more of his comrades felled. Again.

His hand went to Galaxia's hilt. Even in a dream, he couldn't stand there and watch them die.

One demon went down, decapitated. Another severed at the torso. Their fetid blood gushed over the battlefield as every one that came near him met the same fate.

They never stopped coming. Each time he killed one, two more appeared. And one after another, his fellow Star Warriors fell to them.

The demon beasts surrounded him, jaws slavering and soulless eyes boring into him, their prey. He stood his ground.

A voice came from one- or rather on top of one. Yamikage sat astride a smaller dragon, watching Meta Knight's every move.

"Having fun?" he asked genially.

Meta Knight didn't reply. Ignoring the other demons, he leapt at the dark ninja, moving with surprising speed. He slashed, cutting through the demon- but Yamikage dodged, jumping over and behind him.

Meta Knight didn't pause, rushing at him again, his sword glowing.

"Don't try it, Meta Knight," Yamikage sneered. He vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Meta Knight stopped, and sensed his opponent behind him. He couldn't turn in time as he heard something thrown. The shuriken hit him in the side, right below his arm and he gasped in pain.

Something was wrong. You didn't feel pain in a dream.

"Surprised?" Yamikage laughed. "Thanks to my master's powers, you can physically harm someone in their dreams… You could even kill them there."

Meta Knight started to move- but something grabbed his foot.

He looked down and froze. It was one of his slain comrades, bloodied hand clutching his foot. He felt more hands grab his cape and armor and he closed his eyes. He didn't want to look, to see their animated corpses clawing at him.

Yamikage cackled as he approaching the immobilized warrior. "I could do this all day… Just let you relive their deaths, over and over, while you can do nothing about it."

"…It's not real. It means nothing…" Meta Knight said, voice tense. Yet he was shaking. These were exactly the memories he had been trying to avoid thinking about all these years. Simply don't focus on them, and they won't bother you… It was a lie.

"Does it?" Yamikage asked. He snapped his fingers, and the bodies around him collapsed into empty armor and bones. "Right… they died heroically. They died so that others may live… It's comforting to think that way."

Meta Knight watched him, clutching Galaxia's hilt tightly. He wasn't even sure if it was really there. He wasn't sure of anything in this twisted nightmare. But, it gave him a modicum of reassurance.

"You're used to seeing them die… Oh, what was that one's name? The one that helped you get that sword…" Yamikage put his hand to his chin. "The woman. Garlude, was it?" Meta Knight didn't respond. "Yes, she lost her life so you could get that sword. You sleep better at night knowing she died for such a worthy cause."

Meta Knight narrowed his eyes, unsure at what Yamikage's point was.

His red eyes glinted. "It's awful when a friend dies meaninglessly… It's even worse when you need to kill them yourself."

He couldn't help it as he recoiled.

Yamikage grinned. "I remember him well. I think I always saw you two together… You know who I speak of."

"Stop…"

"Jecra. That was it. Such a shame about him. So tragic… so easily preventable."

"You have no right to speak of him."

Yamikage ignored him. "That was what put me in such high regard with Nightmare, you know. It was really a genius idea."

Meta Knight's anger turned briefly to confusion. "…What are you talking about?"

"He was your weakness. We could have simply killed him… but it was so much better, it would bring you so much more pain to have you do it instead."

He was shaking again, the words striking deep. "Stop it."

"Why? Don't like thinking about it?" Yamikage asked. "He was a stubborn one. Nightmare couldn't control him easily. I had to bring him to the brink of death before he gave in…" His tone was jubilant as he recalled it. "Few other Star Warriors survived as much as he did. In the end he gave in only because he wanted to see his loved ones again. He fell into Nightmare's trap perfectly."

"_Stop it_." Meta Knight backed away impulsively. He didn't want to hear any of this. He felt cold stone behind him and found he couldn't go any further.

Yamikage walked closer. "What was it like?" In an instant, he was right in front of him, pinning him by his arms against the stone. His eyes were piercing, psychotic. "What was it like to kill him? What was it like to see him die?"

Galaxia was no longer in his hand. His mask had vanished, leaving him vulnerable. He attacked anyway.

He swung his fist, catching Yamikage off guard and striking the side of his face. He couldn't do very much damage that way. Strong as he was, his body wasn't made for that kind of fighting.

Yamikage grabbed his arm, squeezing hard. "I didn't expect that." He felt where Meta Knight had hit and laughed quietly. "You still have a lot of fight left in you… We need to do something about that."

Meta Knight scowled, the color of his eyes nearly matching Yamikage's. He couldn't pull his arm back. Even in this dream world he was weakened.

"You could have saved him, you know." Yamikage looked down at him. "Nightmare doesn't control anyone permanently. In time, maybe he could have freed himself from his control…"

Meta Knight shook his head. "Liar. I did try, there wasn't anything that could be done."

"You can tell yourself that all you wish. I'm being truthful with you," Yamikage squeezed his arm harder, causing him to wince. "His death could have been prevented."

The landscape changed again. A vast rocky plain stretched out around them, the setting sun staining the ground red. And Meta Knight saw himself. He was fighting a battle he could not win.

"Jecra! Jecra listen to me!" His voice was high and panicked as he blocked an attack from his friend. Jecra's eyes were glowing red, soulless as any of the demons he had fought before. His attacks didn't let up.

Meta Knight couldn't look away. This was exactly as he remembered. He'd never tried to recall it like this. It was too painful.

"Stop…" The memory played out before him, and he could do nothing to halt it.

His past self pleaded with Jecra. "Please! Fight him! You have to!" He never fought back, only blocking and dodging. He couldn't bring himself to attack his friend.

His past self finally struck Jecra with the side of his sword, stunning him momentarily. He tried the only other thing he could think of. "Please, Jecra. Think of Joe. Your son, you need to see him again."

Jecra paused, face twisting behind his mask. He brought his hands to his head, eyes squeezed shut as if he was in pain. For a fleeting moment, Meta Knight had thought he could break free.

It didn't last. Jecra screamed, half anger and half pain, dashing towards him with intent to kill.

Meta Knight blocked the attack, Jecra's sword catching on one of the Galaxia's spikes. Jecra pushed forward regardless, eyes narrowed as he tried to get at him, their swords locked together.

"Jecra…" Meta Knight gasped, holding him back. "You must fight this!" He pushed hard, trying to knock him away.

Galaxia cut through Jecra's sword as if it was made of paper.

He didn't intend it. He was only defending himself.

And suddenly Meta Knight was in that body, no longer a spectator. He felt his sword go right through him, through flesh and bone like it was nothing. Jecra froze, standing over him. His broken sword clattered to the ground as his blood flowed down Galaxia and onto Meta Knight's hands.

And the red faded from Jecra's eyes, wide now, his pupils dilated. He choked, blood flowing out from under his mask.

Meta Knight jerked back, pulling his sword from him. It was too late. Jecra collapsed in front of him.

He couldn't take it. He couldn't see this again.

He turned, but Yamikage was there.

"What, you aren't going to comfort your friend in his final moments?" he asked derisively. "How cold of you."

"Stop this. Damn you, STOP THIS!" Meta Knight swung the bloodied sword at him, and again he dodged.

"Too hard for you? I thought you had more resolve than this… Why didn't you try and save him?"

"I did. I tried."

"No. You killed him."

"It was an accident. I had no choice."

"You could have chosen not to fight him at all. You fool, you make all the wrong decisions. It was your decisions that led you and those children here. Your ineptness will lead every one of them to their graves. Same as all the rest."

"No." Shaking his head, futilely denying it.

"How is it that you were one of the only Star Warriors to survive?" he asked, his eyes cold. "You acted selfishly. They died while you escaped."

"That's not true." His voice was wavering.

"It is. You led them all to their deaths. Because of your carelessness you were ambushed that night and Jecra was taken."

This wasn't right. It wasn't true. He could only shake his head at the accusations.

"Mety…"

That voice. Suddenly his was the last voice Meta Knight wanted to hear. Despite himself, he turned.

Jecra was alive. No blood, no injuries. His eyes were sad.

Meta Knight looked back- Yamikage was gone.

Jecra walked towards him slowly. "I tried to stop myself. I'm sorry, but I couldn't. I didn't want to attack you like that."

Meta Knight backed away slowly at first. "Stop it… Yamikage. Stop this now," he choked, desperate.

"I thought you could have done something to help me. Why didn't you?"

"It wasn't like that," he replied. "It was an accident. I didn't want to."

He looked angry. "It still happened. You didn't even try."

"I did!" he exclaimed. "Damnit, I didn't know!"

He couldn't face him. And so he ran.

There was no place he could go here, but he ran anyway. It was cowardly, selfish. He couldn't help it.

A hand grabbed his arm.

"Meta Knight!" Jecra's voice, twisted now.

He looked at the hand grabbing him. The fabric and skin in tatters, white bone showing through. He didn't turn to look, only pulling away and running faster. The landscape became a never-ending blur, the accusing voices of his fallen companions echoing behind him, louder and louder no matter how much he ran.

He stumbled, was unable recover and tumbled end over end before coming to a stop on his back. He heard footsteps, looking up to see Yamikage standing over him.

"What a pathetic display," he scoffed. "Why don't you answer them?" He kicked the fallen soldier in the side, righting him. "I think I'll leave you here for a while. Let you sort things out."

"W-Wait!"

He was gone. Meta Knight could hear footsteps behind him.

He didn't look. He couldn't. Instead he gaze went down… and he saw his white gloves were still covered in blood. _His_ blood. He ripped them off, throwing them down on the stained ground.

The blood was still on his hands.

_Failure._

_ Coward._

_ They'll all die because of you._

_ They all died because of your mistakes_.

"Stop!" he pleaded, eyes squeezed shut. They were all around him now, clawing at him. "Damnit, STOP!"

_Everyone who follows you dies._

_ They'll all die by your hand._

_ You can do nothing about it._

_ The Star Warriors are dead._

_ You are powerless._

"Not real not real not real not real…" Over and over. They weren't real. Just a dream.

Nightmare had their souls. Maybe this was real and he was being punished for allowing this to happen to them.

He opened his eyes for a moment, looking up in front of him.

Half of his face was a skull's external grin. Blood soaked his clothes.

"…Why did you kill me?"

"I… I…" he stammered, backing away from the ghastly visage. He couldn't force himself to look away.

Hands grabbed at him from all sides, angry voices rising.

"Why did you survive? Why none of us?"

"You failed us!"

_No better than a traitor._

_ This is what you deserve._

They closed in. And all he could do was scream.

* * *

Sword Knight and Fumu listened intently as Blade told them what he'd found out and explained his plan.

"I didn't see many guards patrolling the hallways. Apparently most of the soldiers here are elsewhere, preparing for a big attack."

"An attack? Where?" Fumu asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure… But, it's going to make this easier for us." He held up the gun. "This too. It only has a small charge left in it, but it should do for now… Ready?"

They nodded. They needed to get this done fast.

Blade moved over next to the door as Fumu went up to it, tapping on it to get the guard's attention.

"Eh? What is it?" he asked grumpily, turning to look at her through the barred window.

"Um… I think something's wrong with my friend…" She gestured back to Sword, who was now lying prone on the floor.

"Ask me if I care."

His companion nudged him. "Hey… they said we had to keep them all alive. I don't think the boss would be happy if one croaked on our watch."

"Damnit… you're right. Fine fine, I'll take a look," he grumbled, fumbling for the card to unlock the cell door. It beeped as the lock disengaged.

The second guard grinned at Fumu as the first walked inside towards Sword. "You remind me of a girl I used to know."

"Oh… really?" she asked, trying to keep her eyes off Blade behind him.

"Yeah. Big blue eyes, blonde hair… Pretty little thing," he said wistfully. His teeth were jagged as he smiled. "I snapped her neck like a twig." Seeing her face fall he grinned wider and stepped forward. "Want to know some other things I did? I-" He was cut off abruptly by a quick shot to his temple, the energy from the weapon bursting through his skull.

"What the-" The first guard turned, but another well-aimed shot took care of him, his body making a loud thump as it fell.

"Good job," Sword said, quickly moving to the first body and taking a large knife and a gun. He tossed the gun to Fumu. "Nothing too complicated, just pull the trigger." He took a gun from the other body, while Blade kept his first. "Let's go."

* * *

Yamikage stood watching Meta Knight, who was still trapped inside a nightmare from which he could not wake. He struggled against his bonds as he struggled against the specters in his mind. It was fun to watch. 

The doors opened behind him.

"I brought the other Star Warrior as you ordered," came the voice of one of the soldiers.

"Very well. Leave him and return to your duties."

"Yes Sir."

Yamikage turned, grinning under his cloth mask as he saw Kirby there. "Hello again, little one. Remember me?" He walked over, picking him up with one hand and carrying him across the room. "Things are going to go a little differently this time..."

Kirby was still gagged, and gave a muffled exclamation as he saw Meta Knight.

"Don't worry about him…" Yamikage chuckled. "He's just having a bad dream."

Kirby fought against him, kicking him with little effect. He didn't like this person, not at all.

He suddenly froze as he felt a familiar power gather around him. Dark and cold and it made him feel sick to his stomach. He watched as a dark orb appeared next to him, swirling slowly.

"It's been a while, Kirby of the Stars." He recognized the voice and shrank away from it.

Nightmare was only a fraction of the power now than he was when he last faced him, yet for some reason he felt terrified. No, it was because he had no way of fighting him this time.

"You did well in defeating me. I would expect such power from my own creation." The orb circled him. "But, those that disobey me are not permitted to survive."

Kirby looked at Meta Knight, but he couldn't help him either. Kirby had no way to attack Nightmare or Yamikage. What could he do?

He saw it, on the pedestal. Galaxia. In an instant, he slipped from Yamikage's grasp, running for it as soon as his feet touched the ground.

The ninja was faster, grabbing him harshly.

"No, child, that's not for you to play with…" he mock-scolded, gripping Kirby's side so hard it hurt. He looked to Meta Knight, and then to Nightmare. "I think it's time, my lord."

The orb laughed. "We shall see."

It floated over slowly to the unconscious warrior, hovering over him for a moment. And as Kirby and Yamikage watched, the orb vanished and Meta Knight was suddenly enveloped in darkness. Kirby struggled, but Yamikage held him.

"Keep still, boy. And watch."

* * *

He was suspended in an endless void, darkness all around him. No sound, no light, no feeling. He actually welcomed it.

Meta Knight didn't bother trying to move. There was nowhere he could go here.

A deep voice rang out, from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Have you accepted your fate, Star Warrior? You can do nothing against me."

He looked up, seeing two skeletal hands arched over him like a cage.

"Do you have any regrets?"

Meta Knight closed his eyes. "…I failed them."

Nightmare's laughed echoed around him. "It is to be expected. A pity. A Star Warrior lives to protect others; what becomes of one who cannot even do that?"

Meta Knight had nothing to respond with.

"Do you wish to see how it could have been?"

He was confused, and Nightmare sensed it.

"I cannot change time, but I could show you how things may have been different."

"…Why?"

"Those that submit to me are rewarded. Do you submit?"

He did not answer.

"Perhaps I will have to show you, then." The darkness around him faded, and he closed his eyes…

When Meta Knight opened them again, he was in the castle courtyard. A cloudless sky above, the breeze light. He saw Dedede and Escargon in the distance, playing golf.

"What is this?"

Nightmare's voice had no source. "What may have been."

It didn't seem very different than what he'd left behind, he thought, looking around curiously. What kind of trick was this?

Then he heard someone running toward him, quick footsteps against the grass. "Hey! Hey Mety!"

That voice.

Jecra. Normal, whole. Alive.

This wasn't real. Jecra was dead.

"If you want it to be real, it is," came Nightmare's voice.

Jecra came to a stop in front of him, breathing hard. He wasn't wearing his usual cape and mask, opting for lighter clothing better suited to Dreamland's weather, his unruly blonde hair tied back into a still unruly ponytail. "Yeesh, I've been running all over looking for you. How do you disappear like that?"

Meta Knight shook his head, distracted. "I was… taking a walk."

"Well, remind me next time so I can put a tracking device on you. This castle's too damned big to run around looking for you every day…"

"What did you need me for?" Meta Knight asked. Jecra paused.

"…I knew what it was when I started looking for you. …Damn."

Meta Knight shook his head and laughed, a mixture of happiness and disbelief. Jecra smiled, looking a little confused.

"You're in a good mood. Any reason?"

"Nothing in particular… Let me know when you remember whatever it was you needed."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, it probably wasn't anything important. I found you anyway, that's the important thing. Though, now I'll have to follow you for the rest of the day so I don't have to find you again if I remember it."

"How unlucky I am," Meta Knight said.

The two of them watched as Dedede missed another shot, only to have a few Waddle Dees run over to nudge the ball into the hole.

"How can it be fun if you always cheat?" Jecra wondered.

"That's the king for you…"

A soccer ball suddenly went sailing past their heads.

"I got it!" Bun went running past, Kirby close behind.

"No, I got it!" Joe ran past them, kicking the ball towards them. He finally noticed his father there and ran over to him. "You said you were going to play ball with us today."

"I did? Oh… Well, how about once you finish this game?"

Joe grinned. "Great! It'll be all of us against you." He ran off to join the other boys.

Meta Knight had never seen Joe so cheerful. He was actually acting like a child normally would. Such a difference…

"Want to play too?" Jecra asked.

"…Sports really aren't my forte…"

"Oh, you've never ever tried."

"I have. I don't enjoy them."

"You will this time."

Meta Knight shook his head, laughing to himself… He always argued like that.

He'd become so lost in the illusion, that he was somewhat startled to hear Nightmare's voice again.

"Do you submit?"

Meta Knight looked around for a moment. It was far from paradise. Then, he looked over at Jecra, who smiled in that exaggerated way he had.

"…I thought you wanted me to suffer…" Meta Knight said quietly.

"I only want Galaxia's power. What happens to you is not important to me. I ask again- Do you submit?"

He wanted to.

He knew the repercussions of his actions, but ever fiber of his being suddenly wanted to say yes. Damn everyone else, he could be happy in this dream world for as long as he pleased. No more sacrifice. No more death. No more failure.

What awaited him if he said no? He would only suffer more. Everyone would suffer more until he finally gave in.

It was so easy this way, and he was so tired of it all.

At that moment, Bun kicked the soccer ball wrong and it went flying to the side… hitting Jecra squarely in the face.

"Gah!" he exclaimed. Joe pointed and laughed. Meta Knight snickered as Jecra winced and rubbed his noise.

"I don't think it's broken… Ow… Thought I had better reflexes than that…"

"Let's go get an ice pack or something," Meta Knight said, shaking his head.

He would stay.

Somewhere, Nightmare grinned. "You've chosen well."


	10. Sacrifice

_Chapter 10 – Sacrifice_

* * *

Sword, Blade and Fumu came to another corner, several guards coming from another hallway. A few quick shots took them out, as they all ducked to avoid attacks from the ones chasing them. 

"There are still too many!" Fumu exclaimed, shooting behind her. She'd quickly gotten over her hesitation to use the weapon.

"We have to keep moving!" Sword exclaimed.

"Joe and Silica should be nearby," Blade said. "Just past these doors!"

Alarms had sounded a short time after their escape, and now every guard in the place was heading for their position. They needed to free their friends if they had any chance.

The hallways all looked identical, endless corridors of gray metal and enemies from all sides. Thankfully, Blade still remembered the way, leading them in what they at least hoped was the right direction.

"It's locked!" Sword exclaimed as he pushed uselessly against the doors.

"Let me see," Blade said, pushing him out of the way to examine the panel to the door's left. "Damnit, we need a card."

Fumu looked around at the soldier's bodies on the floor, and kneeled by one, searching through pockets on his belt. She pulled out a white card. "Try this one!" She tossed it to him and he swiped it through the machine. The light turned red.

"No good!"

Sword went over to search one of the others, retrieving two more cards. They could hear more soldiers approaching.

Blade tried the first- nothing. At the second, the door beeped and slowly slid open. They ran through just as more guards came around the corner behind them.

They ducked into another hallway as a group of guards ahead of them opened fire.

"Joe and Silica are going to be in that cell," Blade said, taking a second to get his bearings.

"We can't get past those guards…"

Blade grinned, reaching into his shirt and pulling out a small round device. Sword gaped.

"Explosive charges? When did you…?"

"One of the guards had them. Risky, but I think right now it's warranted."

Sword leaned out just enough to fire some shots to provide some cover, and Blade tossed the now activated charge so it landed right behind the soldiers. They both ducked back and covered their ears.

Inside the cell, Joe and Silica had no idea what was going on outside, only that someone- their friends hopefully- were causing a huge commotion.

They both winced at a loud explosion outside, the force of which impacted the door and blew it inwards. A few moments later, three small figures ran in through the smoke.

"Silica! Joe!" Fumu exclaimed ecstatically, running towards the two. She paused as she saw Joe's leg. "Oh, no…"

"It's not too bad. Silica fixed it up pretty good," he grinned. "But, I'm sort of stuck here…"

"Not for long," Blade announced, holding up a small set of keys he'd pulled off a guard. "I hope it's one of these…"

Sword tossed two guns to Silica. "Sorry, we didn't find yours."

"It's no problem… How did you guys manage this?" she asked, incredulous.

He shrugged. "We were lucky. Maybe someone's looking out for us for once," he said with a wry grin.

"What about Meta Knight and Kirby?" Joe asked as Blade tested each of the keys on his bonds.

His smile faded. "We aren't sure where they are… We're going to try the other cell blocks for now."

"We'll find them…" Joe said quietly.

"Aha!" Blade grinned as a key worked and the shackles popped open.

"Finally!" Joe held his hands up, rubbing his wrists. "Let's get out of here."

Leaning on Sword's shoulder, he stood, wincing slightly, but not showing just how much pain he was actually in.

"Get between us," Blade said, getting on his other side. "It'll be faster if we carry you."

"All right…" he agreed, somewhat reluctantly. "I can only use my fist attacks like this…"

"It'll be enough. Let's go before more guards come."

They stepped over the bodies of fallen guards and demons, running down the hallway and away from the sound of their pursuers.

As they ran deeper into the base, they met little resistance. Suddenly it had fallen horribly quiet except for their footsteps and labored breathing.

"They should be all over us by now…" Silica voiced her worries, and they slowed their pace. They hadn't seen or heard anyone in several minutes.

Joe suddenly paled. "Guys… Something's coming. It's big."

The others listened for a moment, not hearing what he did just yet… And then there was a deep, ominous rumbling from ahead of them, growing louder.

"Does Nightmare have any big demons left?" Blade asked, his gun aimed ahead of him with his free hand.

"We don't know. There must have been some left that we missed," Silica said. "Fumu, get behind us."

The sound grew louder, a strange high-pitched sound like jet engines. But they saw nothing in the hallway.

"Where is it?" Fumu asked, looking behind them. Nothing. Nothing ahead of them either. The sound was almost deafening.

"EVERYONE MOVE, NOW!" Joe shouted abruptly. As he did, the wall near them exploded outwards. They barely dodged the blast, Sword and Blade jumping away with Joe, and Silica knocking Fumu to the side.

Out of the smoke, a pair of yellow eyes glowed brightly.

"What is that…!" Sword breathed, he and Blade backing away with Joe.

Suddenly, something small and fast shot out of the smoke directly towards them. They lunged to one side as what looked like a metal fist impacted the ground, breaking through the panels of the floor. It pulled back, hovering with the power provided by a small jet at it's back, and turned back towards them.

"Look out!" Silica exclaimed. There was another. And then two more fists appeared, hovering in the air.

The smoke cleared and their owner was revealed. A hulking, knight-like robot hovered there, simply a metal torso with a horned helmet on top, yellow eyes glowing beneath. All four fists returned to it, floating in formation around it while the mechanical demon scanned the group.

"Run!" Sword shouted. They couldn't face an enemy like this.

They all dashed for the open side of the hallway, past the titan. They didn't get far as two of the fists jetted ahead of them, impacting the floor there and causing the metal to buckle. Two more hit behind them.

They opened fire, the blasts from their small weapons deflecting harmlessly off its armor. Silica pulled Fumu to one side as a fist came right for them.

"We can't fight this thing!" she shouted, firing at its main body and doing little good.

Joe pulled away from Sword and Blade, leaning heavily on his good leg. "Doesn't look so tough to me…" He pulled his fist back. "Smash Punch!"

A burst of white energy hit one of the fists, sending it crashing into the wall. Immediately the others turned towards the boy, homing in. Joe paused, getting ready to dodge… and nearly doubled over as pain shot up his leg.

Sword dashed over, grabbing him and pushing him to the side as all three of the other fists hit where he'd been standing.

"You can't fight in your condition!"

"We have to do something! The weapons won't work on it!" he shouted, pushing him away. "Vulcan Jab!" He hit the other fists as they rose again, sending them spinning away.

Blade looked around frantically for some way they could escape or a way to counter this new enemy. His attention was caught by a sound like sparking. At one of the spots the fists had struck, several live wires had been exposed.

He looked to Sword, but he was helping Joe stand as he kept the titan at bay. "Fumu! Silica!" he shouted to them. "Someone needs to distract it while one of us gets behind it!"

One of the fists broke past Joe, nearly hitting him as it dashed by. Blade ducked as it returned.

"Why?" Silica asked, keeping low.

"I think I can short out its main body with of these wires, but I'd need to get close."

"Or maybe we could knock it into them?" Fumu suggested.

"I don't know how we could move that thing…" Silica shook her head.

Blade watched as Joe's attacks threw one of the fists against the wall, only to have it spin around again and come at him full speed. Sword barely dodged this time. They were both beginning to lose strength.

Fumu stared up at the titan, gritting her teeth. "I have an idea!" she exclaimed. "Cover me!"

"No, wait!" Silica shouted, trying to grab her but she ran towards the titan's main body. "Damnit!" She opened fire as the fists turned on her.

The robot's eyes followed Fumu as she ran towards it, jumping on top of some of the wreckage nearby… and then directly onto it.

Apparently, the robot's programming had not accounted for this. Its eyes flashed and thrashed back and forth wildly. Suddenly, all four of its fists turned away from the others.

Fumu grabbed onto the grating on its front, holding on for dear life as it spun. She looked up as it slowed, seeing all of the fists hovering there, aimed for her.

"Come on you tin can! See if you can hit me!" She climbed up, making herself an easier target.

The jets on the fists blazed and they streaked forward, directly for her.

She crouched, waiting. Just one more moment…

She leapt.

The titan realized its calculation error milliseconds too late.

All four fists hit it at once, sending the main body crashing into the wall behind it. Its metal armor came in contact with the wires and it suddenly lit up as several thousand volts of electricity charged through it, frying circuits and wiring, finally rendering it inactive. Smoke rose from its wrecked form and Fumu nearly fell over, suddenly feeling weak.

"Yes!" Joe cheered, fist in the air. "And I thought you were just some whiny little tree hugger!"

Fumu shot him a look, but she smiled anyway. "Let's get out of here before they send another."

"We should be getting close…" Blade said, silently praying they weren't too late.

The group ran down the corridor, none of them knowing what lay ahead.

* * *

Nightmare's laughter echoed around the small chamber, Meta Knight's body glowing briefly red. Suddenly the bonds around his arms and legs opened, and he fell to the ground. Kirby watched apprehensively, still held by Yamikage. 

Meta Knight moved. Slowly at first, jerkily, like a marionette whose strings are tangled. He stood, eyes opened, moving his arms and legs as if testing them. He looked over at Yamikage and Kirby, and a horrible grin spread across his face.

When he spoke, it wasn't Meta Knight's voice. "He gave in easily… You did well, Yamikage."

The dark ninja bowed slightly. "Thank you, my lord. …Where is he now?"

He chuckled. "He's in a dream world I created. I thought I'd be generous and give him a reprieve… It will make his pain all the better when I take it away from him."

It was Meta Knight, but not Meta Knight. Kirby didn't understand.

"What of the child?"

Nightmare grinned with Meta Knight's body. "Ah, yes…" He walked over to Galaxia, reaching up and grabbing the hilt. The sword appeared in a flash of energy and he laughed. "Perfect…" He looked at Kirby. "What you did to me was quite painful, you know…"

Kirby's eyes went wide as Meta Knight- no, Nightmare approached him. He struggled against his captor.

"The Star Rod is one of the only things that can cause me such agony. It truly ruins my good mood just thinking about it…" He looked to Yamikage. "Remove the gag. He is no threat to me now."

Yamikage did as ordered, setting Kirby down between them.

"Poyo where Meda Knight?" he demanded angrily. "Leave alone! Get out poyo!"

"Meta Knight has surrendered to me. He decided he didn't want to bother protecting you anymore," he said in mock sadness. "He wouldn't have been able to save you anyway."

"Do you intend on finishing him quickly?" Yamikage intoned. "If not, I would be happy to help you prolong his torture for a time…" His tone made it no secret that he would enjoy it immensely.

Nightmare held the sword before him, the energy crackling around it. "I suppose it depends on how long he can dodge."

In an instant he attacked the young warrior, striking fast and viciously, far faster than Meta Knight would have normally been able to move. Kirby barely avoided the golden blade, the energy from it still hitting and leaving shallow cuts.

"Hard to fight against this face, isn't it?" Nightmare taunted, slashing out. "I was hoping to savor your death for myself, but perhaps I should pull Meta Knight from his dream world so he can watch you die as well."

Kirby jumped back, breathing hard. He couldn't keep dodging for long. He knew from the only time he'd fought him before, years ago, that using his inhale on Meta Knight didn't work. He saw Yamikage on the other side of the room from them, watching.

"Or maybe I should wait to kill you, Star Warrior… I should have you watch as I use this body to kill your companions first." He laughed. Galaxia glowed in his hands. "The power is amazing… So much unlocked potential."

Kirby's eyes were on the sword, transfixed. He had wielded it before. He'd never thought much of it, but apparently it was strange that he was able to. Only Meta Knight had ever been able to touch it before. There was something special about that sword.

And suddenly he knew he had to get it from him.

Nightmare gave an angry shout as Kirby ran for him, sidestepping so he went tumbling past. "What do you think you are doing!"

Kirby didn't answer, turning and leaping for him. He grabbed his cape, yanking hard and pulling him off balance. He climbed him, grabbing his armor and then his arm, reaching for the sword.

Yamikage watched, unsure if he should bother helping- surely Nightmare could handle this?

Nightmare thrashed in Meta Knight's body but Kirby would not let go. The young Star Warrior reached up, and touched the sacred sword, grabbing the hilt below Meta Knight's hand.

_LIGHT_.

The three of them averted their eyes as energy exploded from the blade, filling the room with pure, blinding light. Nightmare tried to release the sword but could not. Kirby would not let go, even as the energy traveled down the hilt, enveloping both of them.

Time seemed to stop.

* * *

Meta Knight stood on the tallest balcony in the castle. It had always been his favorite place to go. Quiet, peaceful. No one else ever came up there and he could keep an eye on things. 

The sun was setting, casting a fiery glow over the landscape, the sea glittering gold. This place was truly beautiful at times.

Yet he felt unease. He was forgetting something. The longer he stayed here, the more it fled from his memory. There was something important he needed to do.

He heard footsteps behind them, recognizing who it was from the stride alone. "Jecra…" He turned, and was surprised to see him in his old uniform and mask, sword and shield at his side.

"This isn't like you, Mety," he said softly. "This place is nice, but you know you can't stay here forever."

Meta Knight turned away. "Nothing awaits me out there except the death of my friends."

"You can still help them."

He looked back. Jecra held out his hand. He was smiling. "Let's go. You still have things to do."

Meta Knight reached out, hesitantly at first… and grabbed his hand tightly.

And the world dissolved.

* * *

A strange, mixed landscape stretched out around him, dark clouds overhead. Much of it was a barren, rocky field, but in the distance one could see what looked like Dreamland, the forests burned and the castle in ruins. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, lighting streaking across the clouds. 

It was still inside his dream, but something was different now.

"Meda Knight!" Kirby exclaimed happily, running over and clinging to him.

Meta Knight looked at him with some confusion. "What are you doing here…?"

An angry voice boomed out suddenly. "I've lost my control over him!" Suddenly a figure shimmered into view over them. The true form of the Dark Emperor, as he had appeared before, his cape billowing out around him and an endless starscape within.

Memories came rushing back to Meta Knight. He stood his ground, Galaxia held before him. It was truly there this time. Kirby stood beside him, scowling at the dark figure.

Nightmare loomed above them, jagged teeth in a twisted grin on his face. "You intend to use that sword to destroy me… but you will not have the chance!"

Suddenly the ground around them rose up, stone spikes jutting out like claws to impale and crush them.

Meta Knight jumped away, slicing through them. "Kirby!"

Kirby grabbed onto one as it rose, clinging onto it.

Nightmare laughed. "The pain of a Star Warrior brings me more power than any other. Your suffering is exquisite, Meta Knight. Perhaps I'll keep you around for a time even after my power has returned." He swept one clawed hand to the side, and the ground rose up in a wave of stone.

Meta Knight swung Galaxia, a beam of energy reducing the wave to rubble. He couldn't get close enough to Nightmare to attack him.

Kirby watched, knowing he couldn't help as he was.

He climbed to the top of the stone spire.

This was Meta Knight's dream, not his own. He didn't know if he would be able to do it.

He called out, voice clear and loud. "Warpstar!"

Nightmare froze at the words. "No!"

Kirby waited, staring up at the tumultuous clouds overhead. Seconds passed agonizingly slow… and no golden star flew down from the heavens. His face fell, his hope vanishing.

Nightmare's laugh was mocking. "You can't summon it without that girl. What a pity." He attacked again; this time lightning struck from all around them. Kirby was knocked from his perch, tumbling to the ground.

Meta Knight deflected the attacks, but his focus was on Kirby. He needed the power of the Warpstar- and the Star Rod.

"Kirby! Try again!" he shouted. "You must!"

"Do not give him the chance, Yamikage." Nightmare grinned devilishly.

Yamikage appeared in a cloud of black smoke, eyes glinting as he saw his target. "Yes, my lord!"

Meta Knight was too far away. He wouldn't be able to make it to Kirby in time. He tried anyway, cursing himself for allowing them to get separated.

Kirby saw Yamikage coming for him. Fast, too fast. He couldn't dodge as his katana came down.

The sudden clang of steel against steel rang out above the battlefield.

Kirby had closed his eyes, expecting the end. He opened them tentatively, seeing a second sword over him, holding Yamikage's at bay.

Everyone's eyes were all locked on the figure next to him. Kirby looked up to see a man he'd never seen before, wearing a green cape and a mask a little like Meta Knight's. His hair looked a lot like Joe's. Kirby had never met him, but somehow he felt that he knew him.

The man looked down at him, smiling with his eyes. Kirby smiled back.

Yamikage jumped away, furious. "What is this!"

Meta Knight was speechless. Was this part of the dream? He felt, somehow- this was different.

Nightmare suddenly laughed disdainfully. "I see now… No wonder my creation turned against me. One of the Star Warrior's souls must have escaped into him… How unusual."

As Meta Knight approached them, looking closer, he saw glowing strands between the two, connecting them.

Jecra finally looked over at him, looking a little sheepish. "Hey Mety."

Nightmare frowned. "Hmph. The memories must have been strong to last for all this time. But, this soul won't save you. Yamikage, kill him!"

The dark ninja vanished instantly, reappearing next to Jecra. But he brought up his shield in the blink of an eye, blocking him and pushing him back.

"Long time no see!" Jecra said, voice cheerful but his eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously. He ran forward, sword slashing. Yamikage was taken off guard, barely deflecting the attacks.

Jecra tackled him with the shield, knocking him back momentarily. "Kirby! Why don't you try that again? I think it'll work this time."

"Poyo?" he tilted his body to one side, but then he understood, jumping to his feet. "Come! Warpstar!"

Nightmare struck out at him brutally, clawed hands leaving deep gouges in the ground. Kirby rolled to one side, worried again that his summon again hadn't worked. Nightmare struck again, dark energy shooting from his claws. He was frantic now, unwilling to allow defeat a second time.

Kirby started to panic, his heart racing. Then he heard the familiar sound, the star shooting down through the clouds and directly for him. He'd never felt so happy to see it.

Yamikage fell back as Jecra attacked him, holding a bleeding cut on his arm. "This isn't possible!" he snarled, leaping back out of his range. He threw a group of shuriken, but they only rebounded off Jecra's shield.

He couldn't use Nightmare's powers now- Nightmare himself was expending too much energy trying to stop Kirby.

"Damn you!" He threw several smoke bombs, hoping to disorient him. He ran through it to where he had seen Jecra, hoping to get in a sneak attack…

He was gone.

"Almost!" came Jecra's voice behind him. Yamikage was struck hard with the flat of his sword, and went skidding along the hard ground.

Kirby watched as the Warpstar approached and he began to inhale. Nightmare reached out, trying desperately to stop him but it was too late. In a flash of light, the Star Rod had appeared in his hands, shining brilliantly.

Jecra approached Yamikage, stepping on his hand as he tried reaching for his katana.

"I bet you regret all that torture and stuff now," he said, smiling again. "Because maybe if you hadn't done that, I could have taken some mercy on you." His eyes narrowed.

Yamikage jumped up, pulling another dagger from it's sheathe. He struck, aiming for his neck.

He hadn't seen Meta Knight come up at his side.

An unfortunate side effect of being able to kill people in a dream… is that they can do the same to you.

Two blades cut through him simultaneously, Galaxia and Jecra's sword slicing through cloth and bone. For the first time, Yamikage's eyes showed fear.

"Sorry," Jecra said, actually sounding sympathetic. He and Meta Knight withdrew their blades, and Yamikage fell to his knees.

"…How…" he choked, eyes locked on Jecra, livid. He couldn't die like this. He _couldn't_.

Yamikage fell forward, and Jecra turned around to Meta Knight.

He grinned behind his mask. "Thanks for the back-up."

Meta Knight did the same. "Anytime."

They both looked to see Kirby wielding the Star Rod. Nightmare shrank away from it's light, howling in agony.

Galaxia began to glow as well, the energy flowing around it. Meta Knight stared at it for a moment. The sword spoke in his mind, impossibly ancient. It was time to end all of this.

"Good luck," Jecra said softly, watching him.

Meta Knight stood beside Kirby, Galaxia and the Star Rod glowing in unison. As a glowing band of stars issued from the latter, encircling Nightmare, Meta Knight ran forward.

Nightmare was powerless now, and could only watch as Meta Knight leapt up, Galaxia glowing so brightly it appeared pure white. The last thing Nightmare saw was Meta Knight bringing the blade down, a massive beam of energy emitting from it, going completely through him and splitting his hellish image in two.

The light spread, cutting through Nightmare from all sides. Meta Knight held Galaxia aloft, the sword's power spreading over both of them. Light pierced down from the clouds overhead, illuminating them further.

Kirby and Jecra both turned away as it became too bright, painfully bright. Nightmare's screaming echoed, growing high before it suddenly cut off as the power exploded around him, a wave of energy blasting out in all directions and nearly sending all of them flying.

The dreamscape faded.

* * *

Meta Knight woke up with a start, gasping. He took a moment to orient himself, wincing as he moved. Every part of his body hurt. 

They were back in the prison, the dim room a sudden contrast to the blinding light that had surrounded them moments before. He saw Yamikage's body several feet away, the wounds affecting his real self just as he said it would.

For a moment, he expected Jecra to be there too. No, of course he wouldn't be…  
Meta Knight noticed someone else next to him and smiled. Maybe he was here, in a way.

Kirby slept peacefully, curled up in Meta Knight's cape. His eyes opened slightly and he yawned and smiled up at him. "Meda Knight…" Both eyes suddenly popped open as he saw something behind his fellow Star Warrior. "Poyo!" He pointed and Meta Knight followed his shocked gaze.

The orb was there. For a split second, Meta Knight feared that it hadn't worked, that Nightmare hadn't been destroyed- that it had all been for nothing.

But, it was deteriorating. Light shone through it, breaking it apart. The orb fell into pieces that vanished before they touched the ground. Nightmare's presence faded. After countless millennia of war and death, his dark power seemed to truly be gone.

And there were stars.

Thousands of them, sparkling points of light flew from where the orb had been. They moved in unison, hovering around the two Star Warriors. Kirby laughed joyously, reaching for them. They floated upwards, swirling gently. Then they were gone.

Kirby looked to Meta Knight. "Poyoyo?"

He smiled. "Just some friends…"

Kirby nodded, satisfied with that answer.

Meta Knight looked at him for a moment, his expression almost puzzled. "I wonder why I never noticed… Your personalities are so similar." He laughed. He wasn't sure how to see the child now, knowing who he was- or who he had once been.

Kirby smiled too, but he didn't really know what it all meant. He'd always had a feeling like someone was there with him, guiding him. He had assumed that everyone felt like that. "…Home now?"

Meta Knight nodded, standing with some effort. "Yes… Let's find the others and go home."

He felt Galaxia's hilt, safely at his side. Most of the power was gone from it now, but the soul still resided there, silent. It had completed its purpose. "It's hard to believe it's over…" He almost worried that this was another illusion.

He stepped forward and winced at a sudden pain in his side, stumbling. Kirby noticed, reaching out to steady him.

"I'm fine…" Meta Knight reassured him. He felt more drained than he first thought. They headed quickly for the door; they both knew that escape from this dark place wouldn't be easy.

Neither of them noticed as the shadowed form behind them moved, red eyes flashing as he rose up slowly from a pool of blood.

He would not die alone.

With his last vestiges of energy, Yamikage darted forward at impossible speed, katana in hand and eyes murderous.

Meta Knight saw him running directly for Kirby and knew the young warrior wouldn't be able to react in time. No one would appear to protect him now.

Time slowed in that instant as he moved between the two, pushing Kirby out of the way.

A Star Warrior lived and died so that others may live.

The room was silent, and time flowed again.

Meta Knight was suddenly aware of a terrible pain through him. He looked down and could only stare wordlessly at his hands, wrapped around the bottom half of the katana nearly up to its hilt in his stomach.

Yamikage gave a short victorious laugh, coughing up blood. "Brave… but foolish…" He pulled out the blade in a swift movement, and Meta Knight collapsed to the floor. Galaxia fell from his hand unused, sliding away. "And you…" Yamikage turned his gaze on the other Star Warrior.

Kirby was shaking as he saw Meta Knight fall.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

An indescribable rage rose in him, unlike any he'd ever experienced, everything he saw tinged in red.

He didn't even remember when he'd grabbed Galaxia. But, it was in his hands, and he was running for Yamikage, screaming.

Yamikage raised his katana in front of him to block, knowing it would do him no good. With a kind of grim detachment he realized he would not survive this battle.

No matter- he had accomplished his goal.

The sword connected. His katana- the arm holding the katana- went flying to one side. He cursed in pain, blood spraying as he fell back. Kirby did not stop, swinging fiercely.

The next cut was final.

Yamikage had no time to even think as the golden blade came down, through bone and tissue, diagonally through his entire body. Two halves of the former Star Warrior crumpled to the steel floor.

Kirby stood there for a long moment, still shaking and breathing hard, his eyes unfocused.

Galaxia clattered to the ground.

"Meda..."

Don't be too late please don't be too late.

He wasn't moving.

Kirby wanted it to be a dream, another nightmare he could wake up from and everything would be okay again.

Kirby ran to him, pushing him into a sitting position and elated to find he was still breathing. But, it was ragged, coming in short gasps.

Meta Knight struggled to focus, holding one hand over the wound for all the good it did. "Damn it…" He looked to Kirby, forcing a smile. "You're okay… Don't worry about me, we're hard to kill…"

His body had all ready been too injured, his energy gone. Maybe in a better time, this wouldn't have been so bad.

He cried out suddenly, and Kirby caught him as he started to fall to the side.

Slowly he realized- a deep feeling inside of him, of something winding to a stop. His body had reached its limits, after such an impossibly long time.

Kirby stood close as Meta Knight spoke quietly. "You did perfectly, Kirby… You'll be everyone's hero."

"Meda too… Meda Knight hero too poyo." He leaned against him, holding him up. "Gonna see everyone."

Kirby held up his cape to the wound, but Meta Knight put his hand over his, pushing him away gently. "I'm okay… It doesn't even hurt anymore…" It was slowly replaced with a spreading numbness and he shivered.

Kirby leaned him against the wall, covering him tightly in his cape. "Gonna get help…."

"Kirby…" No one could get there in time.

Kirby shook his head adamantly. "Meda be okay."

He closed his eyes. "Kirby… listen to me."

The child moved close, sitting next to him.

"…When you get back to the castle… in my room there are letters in one of the desk drawers… Another is with Joe's aunt… Please, be sure everyone gets them."

Kirby gave him a puzzled look. Meta Knight was coming back with them. He didn't need Kirby to do this for him.

Meta Knight managed to reach up, touching his face gently. "You need to listen to me now… You need to go help everyone. They need you."

"No!" he exclaimed, voice breaking. "Meda help too!"

He laughed, only a little. It was hard to breathe. "…I'm just a bit tired… I need to rest…"

"No… No no no…" he shook him softly, tears welling up his eyes. He grabbed Meta Knight's hand, some irrational part of him believing he could hold him there, keep him there with him.

He had seen friends die before. He never wanted to see it again, but he was always helpless to do anything.

Meta Knight could only hold his small hand, his strength fading. "…We might… see each other again someday…" he said, his voice barely audible. And his eyes faded, growing slowly dimmer before they closed.

Kirby stayed with him, holding his hand even as it went slack in his arms.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting beside him before he heard footsteps and angry voices outside the cell.

He took Galaxia into his hands, facing the door as it opened.

He would protect him.

* * *

Everything was clear and soothing. All was completely at peace. He could rest, after so very long. For a time, at least. 

A familiar presence, warm and cheerful. One that shouldn't be there.

"No worries… He's still alive, thanks to you…. I just didn't get a chance to talk to you before you went."

There was a comforting feeling, like arms embracing him.

"I don't want you to go with any regrets, so I'm telling you now: I don't blame you in the slightest for what happened. Neither does anyone else. You only did what you had to."

He rested against him for a long moment.

"…Guess you have to go now," he said, tone sad. "Promise me you won't keep regretting what happened."

He promised.

"Great." He smiled, and he waved. "…See you around."

And there was glorious light.

* * *

They heard the sounds of a battle. 

Sword and Blade ran ahead of the others, Joe carried between them. Fumu and Silica were right behind them, and they were all exhausted from the rapid pace they had been keeping.

"It should be right up ahead!" Blade shouted. The room was at the end of a long narrow hallway. He didn't understand why there weren't any guards until they got closer, and he saw several of them run through the open door ahead.

They heard a familiar cry, and a flash of light illuminated them from into the room. Two of the guards ran back out, only to be met with blasts from their weapons.

Fumu ran ahead all of them, ignoring their warnings as she ran into the prison cell. She knew who it had to be.

"Kirby!"

He barely registered her presence at first, his mind clouded with a myriad of emotions. But, her voice cut through to him and he nearly dropped the sword. "Fumu…"

She moved past bodies of the soldiers he'd slain, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. "We were so worried…"

He was a warrior, in his blood and in his soul.

But he was still only a child.

A thin wall inside him shattered, tears flowing down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably, clinging to her.

The others entered the room, looking with confusion at Kirby's reaction. Fumu could only hold him, bewildered.

Joe spoke what was on everyone's mind, his voice hesitant. "…Where's Meta Knight?"

Kirby couldn't answer him, but he didn't need to.

They all looked as Silica gave a short cry, her hands covering her mouth.

A small form near the wall, draped in blue cloth.

Sword and Blade had enough presence of mind to set Joe down before they ran over. Everyone realized it, but they refused to say it.

Fumu shook her head slowly, holding Kirby as his cries gradually subsided.

"Please no…"

It was unthinkable.

They should all be celebrating. Nightmare was defeated, never to be a threat to life again. They'd accomplished what they had set out to do, against all odds.

It did not feel like a victory.

Sword backed away from the body, swallowing hard, a pain in chest and throat. For a brief moment he had prayed with every fiber of his being that Kirby had been mistaken.

Blade spoke, his voice hollow. "…We still need to get out of here. The hanger isn't far."

They all forced themselves to not feel. They could not mourn now.

"We need to go now. Before more guards come."

"No leave him," Kirby pleaded, pushing away from Fumu. "Can't leave him!"

They both stared, shocked- but he was right. They knew it wasn't him anymore, but it would be wrong to leave the body there.

"We can't…" Sword shook his head. "Not here…"

They tied the cape around the body carefully, carrying it between them. He was so light.  
They knew where they needed to go next. No one needed to say anything. No one knew what to say.

They had little opposition as they made their way to the base's hanger, the soldiers and demons disorganized with their leader gone. They were still a threat, but nothing they couldn't deal with.

They stole aboard a small ship, firing through the doors to the outside and flying out into space, switching the ship to warp before they could be followed.

Kirby looked at the star chart before him, pointing to the certain location. He knew how to get there.

* * *

The Kabu guided them. 

There was a place for him, as there was for all the others that had come before him.

Was his soul resting there? They had no way of knowing. But, as they entered the tomb, something felt different. More than just a sense of peace, now there was a strange energy.

They gathered in the room they were led to, Sword and Blade carrying the wrapped figure between them in a somber procession.

Fumu cried softly into Silica shoulder, the older girl stroking her hair. Silica's tears fell silently. She hadn't known him as well, but the loss still affected her.

"…We don't have his mask," Blade said as the top of the stone sarcophagus closed by some unknown force. He recalled how Jecra's tomb had his sword and shield. It would be only proper to set Meta Knight's mask here, as much as it had defined him. But he didn't know where it was.

Sword wanted to be strong for his friend, but as Blade suddenly turned and wrapped his arms around him, fiercely, trying and failing to hold back tears, he was quick to follow.

Kirby and Joe stood in front of the tomb, Joe leaning on him for support. Kirby had no tears left.

Joe was angry. It was how he usually felt about things he didn't like. He never cried when he was younger. He got angry and lashed out.

Yet, he felt hot tears on his face, and rubbed them away quickly. He refused to cry, gritting his teeth and turning away… only to see Kirby looking up at him.

"It okay Joe…" he said, holding his hand. He felt a connection to him he didn't quite understand. He always had. "Meda… Meda Knight protect me…" The thought made him a little less sad.

Kirby looked at the gold hilt he held in his other hand. Galaxia was silent, but Kirby thought he felt something akin to grief emanating from it. Even the sacred sword mourned.

Joe swallowed the lump in his throat. He wouldn't cry. Instead he looked up at the Kabu that was in the room. "What happens to the Star Warriors now? Nightmare's gone."

"There is always darkness. Their souls will always exist to fight it," the ancient statue replied. "The cycle continues."

They left a short time after, heading for their next destination.

* * *

It was early in the morning when Jarle heard a knock at the door. Grumbling to herself, she swung it open, ready to yell at whomever it was. She stopped short when she saw Joe standing there, leaning against Silica and his leg in a splint. 

The next moment, Bun ran out the door past her, tackling his sister in a strong hug.

"You're alive!" he cried, his arms around her middle.

She laughed a little, patting him on the head. "Of course I am… I missed you."

Bun suddenly realized that he was hugging his big sister and backed away, trying to maintain his composure. He suddenly grinned. "You beat him, didn't you? You beat Nightmare!"

"Poyo!" Kirby nodded and Bun did a little spin.

"I don't believe it!" he cheered. "How did you do it? You have to tell me everything. I can't believe you left me here; it was so boring…" He frowned then, looking over the group, a sudden bad feeling in his stomach. "…Hey… where's Meta Knight?"

Everyone was silent, no one wanting to answer. Fumu spoke up, but softly.

"He… He saved Kirby… but…" her voice trembled and she couldn't continue.

Jarle paled, leaning heavily on the doorframe. "…Let's get inside."

She sat down on the couch as she entered the living room, leaning over with her arms on her legs, hair draped over her face. The others went into the guest room, knowing better than to bother her.

Joe stood back, leaning on a chair for support now. His leg didn't hurt as much now that they'd treated it better- and he'd downed several painkillers.

He spotted something on one of the tables, and reached over to pick it up. It was a photo, an old one. Jecra, holding him as an infant, Jarle looking as annoyed as she always did. And Meta Knight, looking like he'd been pulled into the frame without warning.

Joe looked up as he realized his aunt was crying quietly, her face buried in her hands. He didn't remember ever seeing her cry before. Or maybe he had- but it was a faint memory. He decided to leave her alone for a while, moving awkwardly toward the hallway to the bedrooms.

Kirby stopped him, waving something in his hand. "Poyo!"

"Huh? What is it?"

He held out two envelopes. Joe saw his name written on one, Jarle's on the other. He took them hesitantly, knowing whom they were from. He didn't know when he'd written them, but it didn't matter now.

Jarle looked up as she heard her nephew walk back into the room. "I got something in my eye," she said, her voice flat. Joe just handed her the envelope. She opened it, eyes running over the words.

"…Damned beach ball…" She gave a short laugh, setting the letter on the table in front of her. "Why the hell did my stupid brother like you so much…" She covered her face with her hands for a moment, wearily, pushing her hair back. Her eyes were still wet. "…This is the second time I've ever cried like this…"

Joe looked at the letter addressed to him, but didn't open it yet. Jarle glanced over at him.

"You should probably get to the hospital for that," she said, pointing to his leg.

"I'm fine…"

She raised an eyebrow. "And you'll need to stay off your feet for a while."

"I know…"

"You're going to completely ignore me."

"Probably."

She sighed, standing up and walking over to him. She grinned. "Just try to run." With that she scooped him up around his middle, carrying him under one arm.

"P-Put me down!" he exclaimed, but didn't struggle. He knew better.

"Soon as we get to the doctor's. I promised my brother I'd look after you, and it wouldn't be very responsible of me to let you run around with a broken leg," she said very matter-of-factly. She got to the front door and turned around, shouting, "I'll be back later! Don't touch anything in the kitchen!"

Kirby watched as the door closed behind her. The others were back in the guest bedroom. Fumu was telling her brother everything that had happened.

Kirby was tired. He didn't have much of an appetite, though.

"…Mom and dad probably miss us," Bun said after Fumu had finished her story, some time later. Kirby was leaning next to him on the couch in the living room, his eyes closed though he wasn't sleeping. Sword and Blade were actually asleep, next to each other on the other side of the couch, and Silica was looking through the kitchen despite Jarle's warning. Jarle wasn't back with Joe yet.

"I miss them too…" his sister said quietly. She really hadn't noticed how homesick she was, but she still smiled a little. "Don't forget, Rona said she was going to have a celebration for us."

"I'd almost forgot!" he exclaimed, sounding a little happier now.

"So, what did you do here while we were gone?" she asked.

"Oh… Jarle made me clean and stuff, it was awful! And then…" He fell quiet for a moment. "I found this video… Old movies of her brother and Joe when he was little… and even Meta Knight… We watched some of them together… Jarle told me a lot about them."

Fumu didn't say anything at first. Then, asking hesitantly, "…Could we see them too?"

The others woke up as Bun found the disks and put them in the machine.

Kirby watched, wide eyed, as he saw memories from a past life.


	11. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

_

* * *

_

Popstar had never looked so beautiful.

From so far away, clouds of dust and gasses around the planet gave it the glowing star-shaped appearance it was named for. It stood out against the darkness of space, a beacon.

The ship passed through the atmosphere, gliding high in the air past land and sea that none of them had been to before. Mountains, forests and endless ocean spread in all directions before they finally came to Dreamland's peninsula.

The ship slowed as it approached the castle, preparing to land on the roof of the main dome. Fumu looked out the main window and all ready saw several small figures gathering below.

They were home.

As soon as Fumu and Bun stepped off the ship, they ran for the familiar figures of their parents.

Joe hobbled down the steps with the aid of crutches, looking sullen with his leg in a bulky cast. He had decided to stay with them in Dreamland for a time- it was slightly better than living with his aunt.

He and Silica went up to Sir Arthur, who was flanked by the other three Star Warriors. Arthur was silent as he watched them approach, trepidation creeping into him as he saw their group was incomplete.

Silica stepped forward, face solemn. "Nightmare has been vanquished. But, Sir Meta Knight…" She swallowed hard, voice trembling slightly. "Sir Meta Knight was defeated in battle…"

Arthur nodded, eyes downcast. "This victory has come at a dire price…" he said quietly. "He was a dear friend…" He and the others were silent for a long moment.

"Nightmare's forces should be easy to dispose of now," Silica continued. "We'll need help."

"Queen Rona contacted us here. She has offered her country's military. And with her influence, surely she could persuade other leaders to aid us as well." It would be difficult, but now they would be able to undo some of the damage Nightmare had caused.

Sword and Blade stood back from the others, helmets held under their arms.

"…I keep feeling like I'm going to look over... and he'll be there," Blade said quietly.

"You too?" Sword said with a slight grin. "I suppose it'll feel like that for a while… "

"What do we do now?" Blade asked, serious. "We can't stay here…"

Sword didn't know either. They would have to make a decision eventually… For now, he felt lost.

Meanwhile, Kirby ran with Fumu and Bun as they hurried over to their parents, laughing. They were as close to family as he had, so he was just as happy to see them.

But, the three of them slowed as they got close. Memu was holding something in her arms, wrapped in a pink blanket.

Fumu gasped, her face lighting up. They rushed over and their mother smiled, leaning down so the three children could have a better look.

"Meet your new little brother."

He was sleeping soundly, his skin pale yellow and hair a contrasting violet. The three of them got in close to look, practically holding their breaths in fear of waking him up.

"Wow… Was I that little when I was a baby?" Bun asked quietly, fascinated. "Hey, what's his name?"

Parm looked a bit sheepish. "Well, we haven't actually thought of one… We were hoping you could help us out."

Memu looked past them, seeing Sword and Blade standing over by Arthur and the rest. Her brow furrowed slightly and she looked to her children, almost afraid to ask what came to her mind. "I don't see Meta Knight…" She saw their faces fall suddenly. She wasn't sure what she could say.

Kirby saw how sad everyone had suddenly become and shook his head. "Meda want us be happoyo..."

"Can I hold him?" Fumu asked. She took the bundle from her mother carefully, cradling him. "He's so cute… Look, Kirby."

"Baby…" Kirby peered at the infant, and reaching out and poked his cheek. The baby suddenly squirmed, whimpering. "Poyo!" Kirby pulled back quickly, worried he'd done something wrong.

But, he just wiggled a bit in the blankets… and then slowly woke up, blinking sleepily. His eyes were a beautiful shade of amber.

He looked around calmly, unable to really focus on faces yet. Everything was a mess of light and dark blurs. But, one seemed to get his attention. He turned slightly, eyes meeting Kirby's.

Kirby stared, unable to place the strange feeling he had.

Memu looked at him curiously. "Do you have a name for him, Kirby?"

He looked back, blinking. "Poyo?"

She smiled. "Maybe we could name him in Meta Knight's honor."

"Meta Knight's a weird name for a baby," Bun pointed out.

Fumu frowned. "I can't think of anything…"

Kirby looked at the infant for another long moment. He reached out, and the baby grabbed his hand in reflex. "…Meda Knight…" He thought hard. He'd never come up with a name before. And then it came to him. "Men… Menai."

"I like it," Fumu said.

"It's a perfect name," Memu agreed, Parm nodding with her. "Menai…"

Kirby twirled gleefully before looking back at him.

He was happy.

And he suddenly remembered something very important he needed to do.

"Where are you going?" Fumu called to him as he suddenly ran into the castle. She winced at a sudden shrill wail, looking down to see Menai had started crying. "Shhh, it's okay, don't cry…" She wasn't able to console him, and gratefully passed him to her mother before going to see where Kirby had gone.

The sun was setting as the friends parted ways. Some would leave to fight what remained of Nightmare's armies. Others would stay to fight their own battles.

Kirby ran through the castle hallways, a group of envelopes clutched in his hands.

www.ivynajspyder. com/kirbymenai2.jpg

* * *

_The End _

_A/N: Until the sequels, anyway... I hope you all enjoyed it._

Edit: I reloaded this chapter to make a small change… Menai has 'normal' eyes now, since giving him eyes like MK didn't fit with something I had planned for the sequel. Eheh… New updated picture too.


End file.
